Podcast appearances and mentions of joy romans

Luke 10:17-20 ESV17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” • • •Romans 14:17 ESV17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. • • •Joy DefinedThe joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. • • •Source of Joy (Jesus)- Luke 10:17-20- Not found in circumstances- Not found in self- Found in belonging to Jesus • • •Fruit of Joy- Romans 14:17 1. Things that hinder- Sin- Misplaced confidence- Life's trials 2. Things that help- John 15:9-11- Prayer- Promises- Obedience 3. Expressing Joy- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17- Philippians 4:4 • • •John 15:9-11 ESV9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. • • •1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 ESV16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, • • •Philippians 4:4 ESV4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. • • •Application:True joy comes from knowing Jesus! Let the joy of the Lord be your strength and the expression of your heart.

Sermon series: Romans 12-16: God's Good Life Paul considers the issue of eating certain foods, which is not essential to the Gospel, as a case study of not causing another believer to stumble in the faith. In such secondary issues, one needs to consider how righteousness and peace are pursued in the church, rather than insistence on being right, so that Christ may be honoured. Through this, others may see the true nature of Christ's kingdom. Preacher: Aaron Akins Date: 17 November 2024

Joy and peace are two blessed qualities that should overflow in the people of God, as Pastor Cameron reminds us today. The Kingdom of God is made of such blessings!

The Kingdom of God is not about what we eat or drink, but it is about righteousness, peace, and joy! Join Pastor Cameron as he discusses these qualities on today's episode. 

Lisa 6:3 - "An Abundance of Peace and Joy! Romans 15:12-13. When you have the Joy of The Lord, you have a lot of Joy and Peace. In Him there is an abundance of Joy. Get Joy today. Be Blessed. ❤

Have you ever doubted God's love? Through trials, hardships, and sin, it can be tempting to doubt God's love for us. When we doubt God's love, we lose hope and joy vanishes. Paul directs our attention to the demonstration of God's love. That proof of love gives us reason to rejoice no matter what discouragements we face. If His love is sure, then we have hope, and that hope gives us joy.

Sermon: Living in the Now and Not Yet: Joy Scripture: Romans 8:28-37 Pastor: Lee Hinkle Our Sermons can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean. © Fremantle Church 2023

Romans 8: 18-30

In this episode of Pray the Word on Romans 15:13, David Platt praises God for the supernatural hope, peace, and joy that can only be found in him.

Join us as we jump back in our Romans series! In this sermon, Pastor JR Vassar explores the transformative power of God's grace as outlined in Romans 5:1-2. The sermon emphasizes the peace we find through Christ, our access into grace, and the confident joy in the hope of being transformed into His likeness. Dive deeper into these powerful truths and the implications they hold. 

In Episode 59, Jake shares about some of the things he is learning about moving from fear to joy on the journey of living for the day. Romans 8:15 and Nehemiah 8:10 are anchoring verses for this episode. Spirit and Truth: Words and Music by Tommy Walker. Copyright 2017 We Mobile Music/BMI (Administered my Music Services) All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission CCLI # 7095350 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jakewalker.substack.com

As we begin Romans chapter 5, we learned about pursuing and experiencing the joy of the Lord amid suffering and hardship, resting on the good news that God suffered for us in the death of Jesus to provide us—once God's enemies—joy now and forever.

Thank you for listening! Here are some ways to learn more and stay connected! New To Faith? ⁠⁠Visit our New To Faith page!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the daily devotional⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore recent messages⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast was created by Pastor Derek Neider as a ministry of Awaken Las Vegas (formerly Calvary Chapel Las Vegas) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠find our website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We are located at 7175 W. Oquendo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89113.  Our gathering times are 9am & 11am Sundays and 6:30pm Thursdays.

Justified for Joy | Romans 5:1-11 | Jon Deedrick

Message from Pastor Steve Khang. We can experience the unending steam of God's joy and blessing if we can learn to let go of that which hinders us and open our eyes to the joy.

Hello and welcome to Move Forth With Grace!  The podcast where we can read the Bible in a year or faster if you'd like now that it is recorded and ready for you.  I believe that God has placed this podcast on my heart and I am so excited to see where He takes us.  I have prayed for Him to show me how I can be of service to Him alone and I believe that this is one of the ways.  I want to first of all say that I am not an expert in Theology or Church History and I never will claim to be.  I am a 44 year old woman who has been reborn and want to be of service to Him in gratitude for calling me back home.  The version of the Bible that I will be reading from is The Founder's Bible and it is a New American Standard Version and includes historical documents from our founding fathers and how they were inspired by the word of God when they were forming our country.  You can find your copy here if you would like:www.foundersbible.orgToday's episode is brought to you by Never Bands.  These are medical freedom bracelets that I created and teamed up with a medical ID company in Texas so that you and your children can band together to preserve freedom and to stand in opposition to the enforcement of these experimental C19 injections.  Order yours here today:www.neverbands.shopThis episode is also brought to you by the Move Forth brand that encompasses freedom, health, and grace.  I was given the words when I enrolled to become a Health and Life Coach in 2017 and they hit my soul deeply and I had no idea why.  "Move Forth Into Your Being and Leave Your Doing Behind."  We are created in God's image perfectly and fearfully and wonderfully.  There is nothing that we need to do to earn that...He simply gives it to us.  I have tips and resources and merchandise available on my website for you here and you can also join the Move Forth with Grace Community:www.move-forth.comThank you for being here....thank you for becoming less like you and more like Jesus.May you Move Forth with Grace today!Connect with me here:https://campsite.bio/moveforthThe Joy Series comes from a list from www.rachelwojo.comSupport the show

Today's Scripture: ROMANS 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

This Sunday we will explore the major mark of justified believers; joy. Join us as we study Romans 5:1-11, and don't forget to bring a friend. See you Sunday! Support the show

Joy - Romans 15.1-4 - Pastor Mike Elliott

369. Perpetual Joy Romans 5:1-11 Jeremiah Morris 09102022 by City Church Lagos

Setting right our mess!“God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.”Romans 8:3 (MSG)Here is my declaration over you:God really went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with your problems as something remote and unimportant – Jesus personally became human, entering the disordered mess of your life in order to set it right once and for all.Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:God really went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with my problems as something remote and unimportant. Jesus personally became human, entered this disordered mess of our lives in order to set it right once and for all.Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/turbojoy-setting-things-right/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

“There is no POWER above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God's passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our LORD JESUS, the anointed one!Romans 8:39 TPTHere is my declaration over you:There is no POWER above you nor beneath you—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance YOU from God's passionate love, which is lavished upon YOU through your LORD JESUS, the anointed one!Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:There is no POWER above me nor beneath me—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance me from God's passionate love, which is lavished upon me through my LORD JESUS, the anointed one!Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/passionate-love/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

Building Better Relationships- Part 1The best way to build better, healthier, and stronger relationships is through the scripture, and Galatians 5:22 has all the tools you need to succeed. As believers, we have Jesus as a role model and the Holy Spirit guiding us. Jesus perfectly modeled all the attributes of the Holy Spirit to give us a baseline to build our lives as believers. We all know what love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control mean, but when we look at them through the lens of the scripture, they are different. They are not based on emotions, which come and go. They are more foundational and have a purpose of helping us reflect and live a godly life for ourselves and others. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are tools that can help you build relationships and demonstrate love to others, but you have to start by having a relationship with God. Once you accept Jesus in your heart, you get a helper, the Holy Spirit, to help and guide you to be better. Join today's Therapy Thursday conversation with me, Lisa, and my friend Lidia Martinez as we dive into the first part of the series of Building Better Relationships. We have been referencing the fruit of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5:22 to get the qualities of creating healthy relationships. In this part, we shall discuss love, Joy, and peace. In our next session, we shall cover patience, kindness, and goodness, and in the last one, we will talk about faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Tune in!  In This Episode, You Will Learn About:  [00:18] Introduction to the show  [00:41] Give away: Four free coaching sessions  [01:19] Today's focus: Fruits of the Holy Spirit, love, Joy, and peace, Galatians 5:22  [02:23] The source and foundation of the attribute or fruits of the Holy Spirit  [04:09] Love; Jesus is our example of perfect love; John 3:16 [05:08] How perfect love can help you drives away fear [06:15] Tools that you can use as a believer to demonstrate love to others  [07:43] Preparing and slowing things down when you are feeling attacked  [09:24] Living a life of love Ephesians 4:16 [12:04] Joy: Romans 15:13, Joy comes from God, [13:29] The kind of joy we're talking about: A joyful heart is a good medicine  [15:07] God's presence brings Joy; Psalms 16;11 [16:05] Peace, Hebrews 12:14, peace with God translates to peace with others  [17:09] Boredom and comfort in chaos Vs. Peace [18:00] How to dress with the peace of God, Philippians 4:6-7 [18:32] Maturity, learning how to use your peace emitters to make pleasing decision  [22:44] Giving God the space and finding peace with Him to build better relationships  [24:45] Episode wrap up [26:37] How to reach out to Dr. Lidia and get four free coaching sessions  [22:34] Ending the show with a word of prayer and a call to action  Notable Quotes and Scriptures: We all know what love, joy, and peace are, but when we look at them through the lens of the scripture and their purpose, they are different.  Emotions come and go; they are like the wind. Perfect love drives away fear, but we're more prone to fear when operating in the flesh. You should always speak the truth in love: Ephesians 4:16 Joy is a gift that comes from God; it's not based on our circumstances or mood  Peace is not the absence of conflict; it's the presence of God Peace with God translates to peace with others  God is a great Gardener, and to help part of us grow, and part of us mature, he prunes us.  Follow Faith with Friends...

I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.Romans 8:38-39 (MSG)Here is my declaration over you:You ARE absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between you and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced you.Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:I am absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between me and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced me.Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/turbojoy-embraced-in-love/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

"Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing- body and soul - God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not “doing” anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation."Romans 10:10 MSGHere is my declaration over you:You Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in you what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not “doing” anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation.Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:I Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—I am embracing - body and soul, God's work of doing in me what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. I am not “doing” anything; I am simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for me. This is my salvation.Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/a-welcoming-word/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

Introduction to PaulRomans • June 5, 2022Teacher: Adam Barnett--First Feature of the Gospel – God has the power to save his human creation. Romans 5:1-11 NIVTherefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, while 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! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.Second Feature of the Gospel – its impact on the lives of those who have been justified by faith.Lt. Kurt Zehmisch“How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way. Christmas, the celebration of love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”R.T. France“Our sin has put hostility and wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice. We are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God based on self-righteousness or cheap grace. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God's own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever!”We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!Like our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, we will one day experience the incorruptible state of “glory” in which God himself dwells.Hope in our suffering doesn't eliminate our pain. It reminds us of God's promise.Romans 5:5 NIVAnd hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 8:35, 37-39 NLTCan 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? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our 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 Lord.

We have a God that knows our longing“God the searcher of the Heart knows fully our longing yet He also understands the desires of the Spirit because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, His Holy ones, in perfect Harmony with God's plan and our destiny.”Romans 8:27 (TPT)Here is my declaration over you:God searches YOUR Heart and completely knows your longing; He also understands what the Spirit wants for you because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for you, His Holy one, so you can be in perfect Harmony with God's plan and your destiny.Here is a declaration that you can declare over yourself as often as you like:God searches my Heart and completely knows my longing and He also understands what the Spirit wants because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for me, His Holy one, so I can be in perfect Harmony with God's plan and my destiny.Connected Blog Posthttps://kingdomhappyhour.com/the-searcher-of-my-heart/Sign up for the Daily Emailhttps://kingdomhappyhour.com

“No one who trusts God like this —heart and soul— will ever regret it.” It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!' gets help.”Romans 10:11-13 (MSG)Now, I declare this promise over you:You who trusts God with your heart and soul— you will never regret it.” the same God for everyone, acting the same incredibly generous way to you who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls out, ‘Help, God!' gets help.Now, you can declare this promise over yourself as often as you like:I trust God with my heart and soul— I never regret It.” God acts the same incredibly generous way to me as he does to everyone who calls out for help. “Whenever I call out, ‘Help, God!' I get help!A link to the related website post.https://kingdomhappyhour.com/heart-and-soul-trust/Sign up for daily turboJoys to your inbox!https://kingdomhappyhour.com/

Christian joy is not based on circumstances. Christian joy is based on the unchangeable truth of what God has done. In this sermon, Ps. Yosia speaks about the seven blessings of Jesus' death and resurrection.

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business inquiries only: beautyforashes1221@gmail.com Also if you would like to see my other content and/or donate towards my podcast, you can click the like below. Anything helps! Thank y'all so much for all your support xoxo. https://msha.ke/jadealexis ---> Link to Pastor Bobby's sermon: https://youtu.be/B0znLqHRVeI Here are some scriptures to remember for Happiness & Joy: •Romans 15:13 —> “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” •Psalm 126:5 —> “They that sow in tears Shall reap in joy.” •John 15:11 —> “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” •Psalm 27:1 —> “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” •Psalm 19:8 —> “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Here are some scriptures about comparison and to help you stop: •Galatians 1:10 ----> "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." •Romans 12:2 ----> "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." •Psalm 73: 2-6 —> “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.” •James 1:17 —> “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” •John 14: 27 —> “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jade-arthurs/support

Join Drew Walsh as we unpack the joy that can be found in journey of going from outsider to insider.Resources and a transcript for this episode can be found at bethel.ch/podcasts.Connect with us online at bethel.ch, by emailing podcasts@bethel.ch, or find us @bethelchurchwa on Instagram and Bethel Church WA on Facebook

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to our “Fruit of the Spirit” series!  Galatians 5: 22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Today's Fruit of the Spirit is JOY (Romans 12:12, James 1:2, Psalm 16:11). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Where does joy come from? What is our joy rooted in? How does joy shape our hearts?

From our 'right standing with a holy God' so many good things flow! Paul begins fleshing out what it means to have peace with God and he kicks off with a whole lot of joy!

Learning to trust God can be daunting; however, knowing He has filled us with his Hope gives us the Joy we need to continue another day. FB @caregivingisaministry; https://anchor.fm/Greta-Bennett/message

Let's rejoice today. Rejoicing in the confidence we have knowing that we have a Lord who loves us! @caregivingisaministry; https://anchor.fm/Greta-Bennett/message

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Joy turns on the faucets of hope. And joy comes freely!Support the show (https://praycall.com/about/)

Congregation: Online Speaker: David Moore Date: 2020-11-08

November 8, 2020 - Pastor Allen Cantrell

The following audio was recorded at Stone Oak Bible Church. For more information about our church or for more resources, visit us at www.stoneoakbible.com.

John 11:35-44 God has created us with emotion. Jesus is proof. Being closer than a brother He weeps over the loss of his friend Lazarus. Genesis 1:26; Love = 1John 4:16; Anger = 1Kings 11:9; Joy = Romans 14:17; Peace = Psalm 85: 8 1. An odor. a. Conversation about Death is a tricky. b. Jesus' request is met with obedience. 2. Prayer a. Jesus is an advocate on our behalf when we come to Him in prayer. b. Prayer can happen anywhere, at anytime, and with any emotion. c.Jesus is the High Priest examining a healed man. He turned a scenario of death upside-down. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mattrolo/message

BIG IDEA: "You can be full of joy right now because of what Jesus has and will accomplish" 1. We have peace with God (vv.1-2a) 2. We have hope of the glory of God (v.2b) 3. We have hope even in suffering (vv.3-5)

We are kicking off the final two weeks of worship for the Thomas family in Carroll Springs UMC! As I told the church this morning, when I am speechless I read about Christ crucified. Which is never a bad way to go. He is the heart! And with Him we have no cause to be afraid (John 14:27).

Topic: Live Your Best Life - The God Girl Edition Living your best life - it’s common phrase these days. There’s FOMO - Fear of Missing Out! YOLO - you only live once, right?! We say these things, but we don’t really follow them, do we? How fun is it to take a selfie, add a filter, and post it on social media for all of our friends, our people to see us living our best lives. We’ve all done it once or twice, or like a million times, right? It’s tempting for us to paint a picture of a life filled with of love, peace, joy, growth, fulfillment, contentment, and confidence for the digital friends. Everybody is out here living, what looks like, their best life! And because what we see is often times perceived as reality, we are now put in the position to try to keep up! Now our lives have to be perfect, too! We have a false perception of what a happy, full life looks like. BUT, If their lives are SO great, we ought to at least present like ours is, too, right? Because the life we have available to us from the Lord, when lived out purposefully and intentionally, is totally one you’ll have FOMO of if you choose not to take advantage of it! YOLO, right?! So we may as well live the abundant life God promised us in His word while we can! God wants us to live our BEST life…but it looks so much differently than the superficial one the enemy magnifies to us everyday through society and social media. Instead of painting a picture, or creating a facade that mimics love, peace, joy, growth, fulfillment, contentment, and purpose, we get to actually live it! We GET to walk in the truth of a life that IS love, peace, joy, growth, fulfillment, contentment, and purpose! Here is what it looks like: ROMANS: Love - Ephesians 3, Romans 8:38-39 Peace - Romans 8:26 Joy - Romans 15:13 Growth - Romans 8:37 Fulfillment/Contentment - Romans 12:2 -Our contentment in life comes from presenting our whole selves to God for His use Purpose - Romans 8:28 -God works through ALL situations to fulfill His purpose in your life --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/simplyfaithfull/message

In Romans 5, we see that the natural response to being reconciled to God through faith in Jesus...is joy. Join us as we consider the claim that Christian joy cannot be touched by anything in this world.

by Tyler Edwards

Joy Romans 14:13-19 – Absence of joy can be a tool of the devil. If you don't fill your life with joy, the devil will help you fill it with…

Joy (Romans 15:13)[Part 2] - Kody - 26 May 2019

Joy (Romans 5:13) - Kody - 19 May 2019

1. The Ascension Detonated the Helper (verses Luke 24:50-51)a. The Helper Comes with the Nearness of God (John 14:16-17)b. The Helper Comes with Boldness (Luke 10:16, Luke 12:11-12, Matthew 10:10)c. The Helper Comes with Joy (Romans 1:16)2. The Ascension Detonated Radical Worship (verses Luke 24:52-53)

Sometimes our eyes are so blurry with tears, the only thing we can see is the cross. Hope and Love allow us to rejoice in our suffering. This Message was given by Pastor Mark Culton as part of our Romans teaching series.

DISCIPLESHIP – EPISODE 1 IN THIS EPISODE… 01:19 We discuss today’s topics – Biblical Definition of Discipleship Why should we be discipled Overcoming objections and excuses 02:14 Segment 1 begins The team discussed the definition of discipling by beginning with what is a disciple. That discussion was expanded to discipleship being a partner of evangelism and using discipleship to hedge against a growing influence of the secular world. John C. gave a viewpoint from growing up in the church as opposed to the secular childhood the others had. The team discussed the difference between discipleship and fellowship and specific markers of a discipleship relationship. James offered a working definition of discipleship as “The intentional encouragement of Christians on the basis of deliberate, loving relationships and training in God’s Word. The team began to discuss what a discipleship relationship looks like. They discuss using each of our gifts for the edification of the body of Christ, and how no one is better than anyone else. 13:32 Segment 2 begins We expand upon what a discipleship relationship looks like and begin the discussion on why discipleship is important. Three main reasons are discussed as to why we disciple: Obedience; Our own joy; and most importantly, God’s Glory. The team has a brief but fruitful discussion on potato chips. John J. messes up the name of the flavor of chips, but corrects it shortly thereafter. Sorry about the slip up Canada! 23:41 Segment 3 begins and we immediately run into a shameless plea for a 5 star rating on iTunes. You can do that by clicking below!. We spend this time trying to address objections and excuses people give why they are not in a discipleship relationship. There is a discussion on the organic nature of relationship and John J. embarrasses himself by telling a story at his failed attempt to begin a bromance. It is determined that it’s important for discipleship to be part of the church culture. Lack of time is cited as an excuse and the team discussed technology to help alleviate that. Ultimately, we make time for things that we want to do, and bringing Glory to God should be our highest want. Fear is discussed as another obstacle to discipling. 35:55 Segment 4 begins Wrapping up the podcast, the team discusses the spiritual disciplines and encouragement. We talk about praying and moving in a direction of obedience.   SCRIPTURE DISCUSSED IN THE SHOW Matthew 28:18-20 Episode Verse Luke 14:25-35 – What is a Disciple Philippians 1:3-5 Discipling for our Joy Philippians 2:1-2 Discipling for our Joy Romans 16:19 Discipling for our Joy 2 John 1:4 Discipling for our Joy Acts 8:26-40 – Philip and the Eunuch RESOURCES WE MENTIONED IN THE SHOW “The Walk” by Stephen Smallman “Discipling” by Mark Dever “A Gospel Primer for Christians” by Milton Vincent “Note to Self” by Joe Thorn Visit us and give us a ‘like’ on our Facebook page! EPISODE LENGTH 43:19 Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next week for another episode when we discuss Holiness, Sin, and Sanctification!

GCC Martin Sermon (Chad Davis)

Holy and Separate, Yet Engaging Effecting Change As we continue in our study in Romans 14 an incredibly important chapter. I think we come to the point where we are seeing one of the challenges of the church, the evangelical church in the west, the two great commands that we have really mediated to us by the Apostle Paul, and that is to come out and be separate, that we would not be polluted by the surrounding world, that we would not be defiled by this world. While at the same time that we would become all things to all people, so that by all possible means we may save some. The same one wrote both of those things. And he was serving the same Lord who said, "Father, I do not pray that you take them out of the world, but rather that you protect them from the evil one." So how do we come out from the world and be separate? 2 Corinthian 6. And at the same time be all things to all men, so that by all possible means we may save some? 1 Corinthians 9. As I looked at Jesus, I looked to him as our ultimate example in this. How can we be evangelistically fruitful and at the same time, pure and holy in this world? That's the question. And Jesus taught us how. Now my favorite depiction of the life of Jesus in movie is Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth. It's still on TV. It was a TV mini series 6 hours and 16 minutes, first premiered in 1977, and I just love it. Others like the Jesus film better and it's been more widely used. But I just love the acting, I love the way the whole thing is pictured. And there's a very poignant scene right at the beginning of the call of the apostles, when Jesus works with the newly converted Peter, this big, burly fisherman who is filled with all kinds of whim and vigor and energy, and he doesn't understand why his brother Andrew, is running after all these holy men like John the Baptist. And now here comes another one. He says, "What, another holy man, another one who tells us to wait for the future time and all that?" he said, "Show me a holy man that can put some fish in the sea, and then I'll listen to him." And then Jesus looks him right in the eye and says, "Go back out again." And he goes out and he catches that miraculous catch of fish and then Peter is incredibly humbled. Problem is, Peter has a, what he calls a "blood-sucking enemy." His blood-sucking enemy is Matthew the tax collector. And Matthew comes to his house where Jesus is there, and there's a huge group of people there, and Matthew enters Peter's house and says, Peter, I heard you had a large catch of fish. We'll talk about it later, shall we. He wants his back-taxes, and so Peter is irate that Matthew would come into his house. And Matthew says, "What about this new teacher, a rabbi whatever he is, Jesus?" And Jesus looks up at him and says, I think that we'll have to meet at some place where we're both more welcome. And he says, "Is your house far from here?" And Matthew looks suspicious and surprised, said, "Why do you ask?" he said, "Because I should like to have dinner with you tonight." Well, Peter and John and James, and Andrew spend the rest of the day trying to persuade Jesus not to go to the house of a defiled tax collector. If you just go there, those people will pollute you, it will be a scandal, you'll be defiled. And Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." It's not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. And so they go right... All of his apostles, disciples, they go right to the threshold of Matthew's defiled house, and they will not enter in, but Jesus walks right in. Well, there's a party going on, it's that low-flickering lights, the oil lanterns, not immoral things going on, but a little bit seedy. You can tell that the first concern of those tax collectors and the women that are there and all that is not holiness, and Jesus comes right into that situation and they're all shocked, they never expected that he would really come. They thought it was just idle words, but he came and he said, "Peace be on this house. And then Matthew said, Thank you for honoring my house. Jesus has already done a number of miracles, and they know that he's an extraordinary person. They never expected him to come. Well Matthew doesn't know what to do and there's a woman reclining there, and he says, "Get out of the way." he's speaking very sharply to her and Jesus speaks gently, says, "No, no, I'll sit over here." Well, someone offers some drink, he can have a drink and somebody offers a toast, "I drink to you in the name of all here" it's a real party atmosphere. And Jesus said, "I'd like to tell a story." And all of a sudden the place becomes quiet and he tells the story of the prodigal son, and it becomes clear as the story unfolds, that the prodigal sons and daughters are those tax collectors that are there celebrating and eating and drinking. And they're drawn into the story, because they've never seen anyone like Jesus with that kind of love and that kind of compassion, and that kind of power. He would come to their house and yet their hearts are being laid bare as the prodigal son waste all of his father's resources on riotous living. Meanwhile Jesus' apostles are standing right at the threshold of the door. Not a toe on the threshold, but they're right there listening also to the parable of the prodigal son. And you know how it ends, Jesus stands up and he's really into telling the story, he's very powerful in his telling of the story. And you can just see the passion as the father sees the prodigal son from far off, and he runs, and he embraces him and he hugs the prodigal son, welcomes him back in and says, "Quick, bring a robe for my son, put a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet, kill the fatted calf and let's celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost, and is now found." But he doesn't stop there, he then goes on to the second part. Now the older brother at that time, heard the celebration, wondered what it was and called one of the servants and he was told. Meanwhile Jesus' disciples are listening very carefully to this right on the edge of the threshold. And that older son is angry, that the father would throw a party for this wayfaring wicked son, who wasted all of his father's living on... Money on riotous living. And the father goes out and talks to him, says, "Please son, listen to me. You are always with me and all I have is yours." And at this moment in the movie, Jesus turns and looks right at Peter, "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But it was right for us to celebrate, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." And at that moment, Peter crosses the threshold comes into Matthew's house and Jesus takes him and puts his arm around his shoulder, welcomes him, but then turns him toward Matthew and the two of them embrace. From then on in the movie they were friends. Now, my question to you is, how does the church do that? How do we go into the party, and immediately become the center and focus? Tell a story that cuts to the quick of the sinners that are there, makes them feel their need for God, not defiled in any way by the evil things that are going on and then producing, effecting a transformed life as a result. How do we do that? Churches are struggling with this all across this country. They're trying to be seeker sensitive, they're trying to set up programs or other things that will be relevant and connect with people. They're trying to have a Starbucks right on the campus or maybe a squash court or something like that, anything to attract the people. They want to find some way to cross the gap between church people and non-church people. And they're doing it in the name of leading people to Christ, but there's a danger of defilement and I think Romans 14, especially verses 17 and 18 gives us the answer. How do we advance the kingdom? I. What Is the Kingdom of God? First of all, what is the kingdom? What is the nature of life, in the kingdom and how can we serve God in the kingdom. And so it says in verses 17 and 18, "The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way, is pleasing to God, and approved by man." Now, that's it. How can we be both pleasing to God, approved by man and serve the kingdom and advance it, that's the question. And that's what we're looking at today in verses 17 and 18. Now we come to the question of the issue of the kingdom of God. Now, Christ began his preaching ministry with the central call in Mark 1:15. The time has come, he said, "The Kingdom of God is near, repent, and believe the good news." He began preaching the Kingdom that's what he did. Christ taught all of his parables around this central theme. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that was planted in the garden or the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who goes out to scatter his seed. Or the kingdom of heaven is like a large catch of fish or the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. The kingdom of heaven, the organizing theme of his parables. He also organized his healing ministry, as a display of the powerful Kingdom of God, the power of God over demons, and over sickness, even over death. So it says in Matthew 4:23, "Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people." So Jesus' healing ministry, a display of the kingdom's power. Now, as we come to Romans 14:17, we have the first mention of the kingdom in the book of Romans. That's really quite remarkable when you think about it, it's the centerpiece of Jesus' teaching and miraculous ministry. Paul mentions the kingdom in many other places, but this is the first time that he's mentioned the kingdom in the book of Romans. And in doing so, he's giving us somewhat of a definition of what the kingdom is. Now, in order to step back just from 14:17, What is the kingdom of God, what are we talking about when we talk about the kingdom of God? Well, first of all, God is a king. God rules on the throne. In Revelation chapter 4, The voice comes and John who wrote the apocalypse is invited, come up here. And when he comes up to heaven, there is a throne at the center. God sits on a throne. And so it says in 1 Timothy 1:17, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to the only God be honor and glory forever and ever, amen." We serve a king, an exalted glorious king. And he rules over heaven and earth. Secondly, God's kingly rule extends everywhere, even over his enemies. He rules actively and sovereignly and powerfully, even over to people who don't acknowledge him, who don't love him and worship him. His rule is everywhere, yet thirdly, there is such a thing as an advancing kingdom of God here on earth that will grow, and grow, and grow, and be fulfilled in heaven, and you can enter the Kingdom of God by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. You can enter the kingdom now. And so what is that kingdom? Well I think it's the place, if you can use that language, spiritually where God the king, is honored and obeyed gladly, by people whose sins have been forgiven by faith in the blood of Christ and who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, for that glad obedience. That's the kingdom. It's a matter of glad submission to the king by the power of the Spirit and of the blood of Christ. And so Paul is bringing us here in Romans 14 to this question, What is the kingdom of God like? What is life in the kingdom like? Is life a matter of legalism, a bunch of dos and don'ts, about eating and drinking, and Sabbath regulations. And the answer is decidedly no. Well, on the other hand, is it a life of total freedom from the law? You can do anything you want, any time you want, you're under grace. Is it that? The answer is decidedly no. But what then is life like in the kingdom? That's what Paul is answering. II. Negatively: The Kingdom of God Is Not... And he starts negatively. Verse 17, look at it, he says, "The kingdom of God is not…" So he starts negatively. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, here, he's dealing with this topic of legalism, the very thing he's been addressing throughout Romans 14. Can we eat all foods? Are all foods really clean or are we still under the Mosaic dietary regulations and restrictions? Can we eat meat sacrificed to idols? Can eat anything we want? Can we drink anything we want? Rules and regulations. Well, he says, "The kingdom of God is not about that. It's not about rules, and regulations, about eating and drinking." This then is the mind of the legalist, this is what the legalist is thinking like. I want to be told what I must do and what I must not do. I want a list. I want a bunch of rules and regulations that makes life simple, even if we can't keep it. And so, rules and regulations, the mind of the legalist, every single area of life covered by a rule. Told what you can wear and what you can't wear, told what you can eat and what you can't eat, told where you can go and where you can't go. Do you want to live like that? That's the life of a legalist. Jesus was dealing with this all the time with the scribes and Pharisees. Remember the picture in Matthew 23. "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You give a 10th of your spices, mint, dill and cumin, but you've neglected the weightier matters of the law. Justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. You blind guides you strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." It's just amazing. You can picture them there, sitting at their table with a magnifying glass, nine leaves of mint for me and one for God, nine more for me and one for God. It's the mind of the legalist. What's the problem? Well, they're living harsh, judgmental lives, they're considering themselves pure and in no need of grace, they call other people sinners, they're ready to condemn a Sabbath breaker, even if Jesus has just healed him, for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. They shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces with their rules, their list, their dos and don'ts, but they think they're on the inside. The big problem is they focus on details and they miss the transcendent truths, like justice, mercy and faithfulness. Now first I want to say to you the kingdom of God is all-encompassing. I don't think Paul's saying it doesn't matter about eating and drinking in the Kingdom of God, I don't think he's saying that. If that were the case, then he wouldn't be telling us anything about eating and drinking in Romans 14. Wouldn't even bare mention. And Jesus himself said, you should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. So go ahead and give a 10th of your spices, but that's not the center of it all. The kingdom is bigger than that, that's what he's getting at. I think what we eat and how we eat it does matter to God. If these things weren't important then Paul wouldn't have said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God." Everything is under the kingdom. There is nothing in all creation over which the Lord does not claim total sovereignty. Abraham Kuyper put it this way, he says, "there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine." Everything is Christ's, including eating and drinking. But I think what Paul is saying here, is that the kingdom of God is not essentially about eating and drinking, it's not merely about eating and drinking, that's what he's saying here. It's bigger than that, bigger than that, involves far weightier issues than that. Some time ago, I came across an illustration I think is helpful. I think what happens is when you take little things and make them the center of everything. Everything flies out of control, just like the solar system. The sun is at the center of the solar system, because it alone has the mass and the gravitational pull to hold all those nine planets, and all the asteroids and the moons and all that revolving around it. The sun weighs 333,000 times more than the Earth. If you take the earth and put it at the center, everything flies out except maybe the moon. Faithful moon will stick with us, everything else will fly out. We just don't have the mass to handle it all. And so when you take legalistic rules about eating and drinking and put them at the center they just can't hold the thing together, it flies apart. What is weighty enough, it's got to be God himself, the glory of God, the word for glory, "cabod" is mass, weight. The weight of the glory of God holds everything together. The Kingdom of God then is not about legalistic rules and regulations, about eating and drinking. That's negative. Well positively, what is it then? III. Positively: The Kingdom of God Is... He gives us a positive definition. It's not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Now I believe that Paul is giving a strong description of life in the Kingdom in this world. I think that what he's talking about, I think, if you look at the context of Romans 14, he's talking about church life, getting along with each other, dealing with debatable issues, what it's like in the church, what it's like in this world. So I think Paul is giving a very practical description here of what life in the kingdom is like. And I think there's a very strong order to what he says here. He gives three words that capture life in the Kingdom. First, righteousness, then peace, then joy, and all of it in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what the kingdom is. That's how we live together and serve in the kingdom. Now let's look at these. The Kingdom of God is Righteousness First of all righteousness, there's a great debate about this word in Romans 14:17. Some people say, is this the same way that Paul has used the word righteousness through much of the Bible? Is this that gift of righteousness, Christ's righteousness imputed or credited to our account by faith. Is it that righteousness or is it the practical every day out working of righteousness, living a righteous life? Which is it? Is it that spiritual imputed righteousness, or is it every day righteousness. I think a case can be made for both. But I believe that we're talking about everyday Christianity here. I believe we're talking about practical Christianity, righteousness lived out in the workplace, righteousness lived out in the home life, righteousness out in the roads and the highways, righteousness in the supermarkets, everyday righteousness. I believe imputed righteousness is the basis of it. It comes first. Why do I say that? Because righteousness has both an eternal aspect and an everyday one. Peace has both an eternal aspect and an everyday one. But joy really only has an everyday experiential aspect. There's no kind of eternal joy waiting for us, ascribed to us that we don't feel right now. You're not feeling joy then. So joy is something you experience right here, right now, isn't it? Or you don't. And therefore I think all three of them are talking about our lives here in this world. So let's look first at this one, righteousness. Now I believe imputed righteousness is given to us as a gift, and it's the foundation of all of our righteousness. It's a gift from God. Think right from the beginning on Romans 1:16 and 17. Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes," Verse 17, Romans 1:17. "For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is from faith to faith. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith." That is the gift of righteousness. He says the same thing in Romans 3:21-24, which I think is the glowing center of the gospel. You want to know what the gospel is? Romans 3:21-24. It's powerful. And there it says, "But now, a righteousness from God apart from law has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." God presented him as a propitiation for our sins through faith in his blood." That's the center of the gospel. It's a gift of righteousness credited to your account by simple faith. And may I say to you, that is the only hope we sinners have on Judgment Day. Do you know it? It's the only hope. Our practical day-to-day righteousness will never be good enough for judgment day, even on your best day. Maybe today's your best day. If today were your best day, would it be good enough for Judgment Day? I think you know it isn't. So therefore, there's a gift of righteousness simply by faith. Or again, it says in Romans 4:3, what then does the scripture say, "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." This is the imputed or credited righteousness of Christ given to us freely as a gift apart from works, not by law keeping. It's not by legalism. It's just a gift. It's a center of the gospel. Now this glorious truth is essential that everything else, to everything else it follows in the Christian life, and it'd be impossible for you to understand properly any human righteousness unless you first understand that. But I believe there's another kind of righteousness and that which happens in your life after you become a Christian. The changes in your life, the way you're different, the way you become more like Jesus, the way you live out righteousness in your everyday life, that's the righteousness I think Paul's talking about in Romans 6, what we call sanctification righteousness. It says there in Roman 6:13, "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and offer the parts of your body, offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." So you're going to use your hands and your mouth and your feet and your whole body as servants of righteousness. That's everyday righteousness, isn't it? It's a righteousness lived out in this world. I think that's what Paul's talking about in Romans 14:17. Donald Grey Barnhouse talked about it this way. He gave a great illustration of a butcher, a man who worked cutting meat for people, and a butcher asked what was the difference that it made to him when Christ entered his life. And he said, "Well the difference was I stopped weighing my thumb." You see what happened was the butcher, when he was cutting meat, lunch meat or any kind of meat for somebody, he'd have his thumb secretly on the scale pushing down a little bit, you see? And so he was charging people for his thumb. He was cheating them really is what he was doing. When Christ came into his life, he stopped putting his thumb on the scale, stepped back, let the scale tell the truth about how much weight had been put on there, and he charged people fairly and if anybody came along that he knew he had cheated in the past, he put extra meet on to compensate for what he had done in the past. Just like Zacchaeus wanted to make it right, restitution. That is the kind of righteousness I think we're talking about here. It's a righteous life lived out in this world, a life in which Christ has made a difference in how you treat people. Christ has made a difference in what you do with your money. Christ makes a difference in what you do with sexual temptation. Christ makes a difference in how you live your life. That's the kingdom of God. That's what he's talking about here. Righteousness. As it says in Psalm 15, "Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who might live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken." That's a righteous life. I think there's another aspect of righteousness and that's, I think, true of all of us Christians, and that is a hungering and thirsting for righteousness, a yearning for it, a yearning to see righteousness in our own lives that we don't see the way we'd like, a yearning to see righteousness in the surrounding society that we don't see the way we'd like, a yearning like it says in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied, filled." So the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is Peace Secondly, he mentions peace, second statement is peace. Paul says that peace is of the essence of the kingdom of God. Now, as with righteousness, there's both a heavenly or objective or spiritual peace, and then there's one we feel, one that we can sense, etcetera. There's the state of being at peace with God. And then there's the feeling of harmony or peace we have within us. They're two different things but closely related. I believe it's talking about the second one, a feeling of harmony or peace where people are getting along with each other, specifically in the church. They're not bickering or arguing over debatable issues, but there's harmony. There's peace between the brothers and sisters. I think that's what he's talking about. Now the first peace is a wonderful thing. It's a beautiful thing. Think about it. Romans 5:1, "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Isn't that wonderful? Think about the objective relationship between nations. During World War II, we were at war with Germany and Japan and Italy. We were in a state of war with those countries. There was no diplomatic exchanges going on. There was just warfare. Now we are at peace with Germany and Japan and Italy. We exchange diplomats. We exchange gifts. Our leaders visit their countries and vice versa. There's open and free commerce. We can travel there without fear, etcetera. Our countries are at peace with each other. And so it is with God. At one point, we were at war with God and God was at war with us. When we were apart from Christ, when we were in our sin, we were God's enemies, it says in Romans 5:10. In Colossians, we were enemies because of our evil behavior and our evil way of thinking. We were at war with God, and more specifically, God was at war with us apart from Christ. But now in Christ Jesus, in the gospel, you have been brought into peace. You have been reconciled through the blood of Christ. Oh how precious is that? Brother, sister, whether you feel it or not, God is at peace with you and he always will be. We might go into another state of war with Germany or Japan or Italy. We hope not. But God will never be at war with us again now that we have been adopted into his family. Isn't that wonderful? That's the objective reality of peace with God, Romans 5:1. But I don't think that's what this is talking about. No, I think there's a different kind of peace. There's peace with God but then there's also that peace of God, a feeling of peace in your heart. We see it in Philippians Chapter Four. You know you've read that before. "Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God." And what will happen? "The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Oh, have you ever had that experience? A burden in you? A concern? And you go to the Lord in prayer, and not just a minute or two prayer, not a quickie prayer, but you go there until you have effectively given him the burden of your heart, and you get up and you're at peace. You have a feeling of peace. God's going to do it. He's going to take care of you. Peace in the Holy Spirit, I think that's what we're talking about here. Now here I believe is protection from legalistic strife and controversy. The peace of God that transcends all understanding unites us together in a bond of harmony in the Holy Spirit. So, we're not bickering. And then when you bring your non-Christian co-worker to the place, you're not embarrassed. You could even bring them to one of our church conferences. Isn't that a delightful thing? There's peace and unity at a Baptist church conference. It can actually happen. Yes, it can. We are united by the power of the Holy Spirit. We don't have to be bickering Baptists. We can love one another, peace in the Holy Spirit. And how powerful is that for the advancement of the kingdom of God? Not arguing over Sabbath rules and regulations, not arguing over worship styles and Christian contemporary music, not arguing about Christian liberties and what you're allowed to do or not allowed to do. Instead, righteousness and peace in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is Joy The third that he mentions is the issue of joy. The kingdom of God is also about joy in the Holy Spirit. Unlike the first two, you don't have that spiritual one and then the earthly version. I'm not saying there's not going to be joy in heaven. Oh, there will be. But it's still us experiencing it, right? There is no joy that you don't experience. You're just not being joyful. But you could be. You see, this joy is based on the rock solid foundation of the first two. Righteousness, the righteousness imputed to your account and the righteousness you see in your life, the things that God's done. Peace, the objective peace we have with God forever and ever and the peace we have in our hearts now that we're walking well with God by the power of the Spirit. And that results in what? It results in joy, the joy of the promises of the gospel, knowing that your best days are all yet to come. All the good stuff's in the future. There is treasure stored up in heaven for you and no one can take it from you. It's guarded for you in heaven, kept in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. This is the joy of the Holy Spirit. I believe that joy may be one of the greatest barometers of Christian health that there is. Now I was looking at my message this morning and I said, "Wait a minute, barometer of health? That doesn't work." Barometer of Christian weather, sunny weather or a diagnostic of Christian health, I don't know. Can you just accept barometer of Christian health? You know what I'm talking about, okay? I couldn't think of a better expression. All I'm saying is if you want to know how you're doing, check your joy. Check your joy. You know why? Because joy cannot co-exist with sin. If you're violating your conscience, you will kiss your joy goodbye until you rectify that through confession or repentance and bringing forth fruit and capable of repentance. Joy cannot co-exist with legalism and unbelief. Paul talked about this very directly in Galatians 4:15. The Galatians had imbibed or drunk in a bad gospel, a legalistic gospel. They thought they had to do a bunch of rules and regulations. They drunk it in. Paul is very put out with them, and at one point very tellingly, he says, in Galatians 4:15, "What has happened to all your joy?" A very interesting question. Do you remember how it used to be? Do you remember the sweetness of knowing that your sins were forgiven? Do you remember the sweetness of the beginning of your Christian life? What happened to that? Where is your joy? Joy is a beautiful barometer Christian health. Look and see if your joy is there, or if it's not. Now I believe joy transcends all circumstances. Barnhouse used the analogy of a submarine. He said, "When all is chaos on the surface, deep down there can be joy. There's never been a storm in the Atlantic, even though its waves were so great that they combed over the bridge of a battleship whose roots were anymore than on the surface. A submarine always finds the water down below as calm as a pond on a clear June day." And I talked to a submarine commander. He said it's true. You have to go down to 400 feet. But I've confirmed this. I try to confirm the illustrations. I don't want to say anything that's not true. But he said even in a hurricane, if you go down 400 feet, it's placid and quiet and peaceful. So you can be going through some terrible trials, terrible trials, but still there can be that joy rooted on the promises of the gospel. How sweet is that? In the Holy Spirit The final thing he mentions is the Holy Spirit, it's righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And I hope you notice I haven't been able to mention the others except for mentioning the Holy Spirit, it's righteousness in the Holy Spirit, it's peace in the Holy Spirit, it's joy in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives all of these things that we've been talking about. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And therefore, we're at a higher level. We're at a different realm of experience. We are not under the law. The law doesn't produce those things. We are in the Spirit and the Spirit does. The Spirit produces righteousness, peace, and joy. That's what he's come to give so spirits work in us, and this is the nature of life in the kingdom of God. Serving Christ in This Way Now Paul asks or brings up an important issue. He's saying, "You want to advance the Kingdom of God? Do it like this. This is how you should serve Christ in the kingdom." Look at verse 18. "Because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men." This is how we serve the kingdom of God. The problem with legalism, your focus is other people, the rule keepers, the rule holders. You want to please them. You want to please the Pharisees. They're watching you all the time. And it takes the focus off of God where it should be, we're all going to stand before the judgement seat of God and give him an account, takes the focus off of God and puts it on other people and what they think. That's a great danger of legalism. The remedy is the spirit-filled life. Spirit-filled life frees you up from being a people pleaser. Your conscience is clear, your lifestyle is pure, you have no secrets to hide, no fear of disclosure because the true audience is with you always by the power of the Holy Spirit, you're consistently filled with the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit characterizes you. You're free to eat or drink or not to eat or drink because you know that your life doesn't consist of these things. And so, like Paul and Silas, you could be singing in the middle of the night in jail because you have joy in the Holy Spirit. And this is how we serve Christ in this way. Now we can serve Christ legalistically, a bunch of rules and regulations. We can try to advance the gospel that way and some people will be convinced. They'll want some structure to their lives, some discipline. Like going to boot camp, they'll come, but they won't be embracing the gospel. Or we can go the other way. We can be as worldly as we can possibly be and try to win Christ that way. I was reading a book recently about the Emerging Church. The Emerging Church is a kind of new wave in the West, America and Europe, Australia, different places, where they're trying to reach what they call post-modern, post-Christian culture, by becoming as much like them as possible so that they can win some to Christ. That's their desire. Their desire is evangelism and they want to win lost people to Christ, which is admirable. The problem is the methodology. The problem is the methodology. They were talking about how one church bought a bar and refurbished it and turned it into a church. And they spoke disapprovingly of this. They said, "That's not what we're talking about," because now the people who used to come to the bar can't go anymore. Now it's a church. You've taken it over and made it a sacred space. No, what you better do, what's even better, is run it as a bar. Run it as a bar and witness to the ones that come. And they cited an example in Bradford, England, where some radical Christians bought a pub called the Cock and Bottle and continued to run it as a pub selling hard liquor to whomever came, seeking to lead them to Christ. Malcolm Willis, who's the manager, said this, "Jesus said to go into all the world and this includes pubs. He didn't say sit in your church and wait for the people to come to you." The book says the Willis's and their staff, all Christians, have set about creating a loving, welcoming environment where locals are cared for, listened to, and ministered to. On the issue of selling hard liquor, Willis justified it this way. "Yes, we're selling booze to people who could do without it. But if we don't, they'll just go somewhere else to get it." Did you hear that? We'll come back to that in a minute. "At least if we're here, we can get alongside them. So, I have to ask, 'What would Jesus have done?' I think the Lord would have been here in the pubs." Well, he would have been there, but would he have been serving the hard liquor? That's a different question. In the margin of the book as I was reading, I wrote, "Why not a Christian crack house in the same theory? Why not? I mean they're going to go somewhere anyway, right? Why don't we serve them the crack and then while they're... I guess before or after, we can witness to it. Say, "Now you really don't need this stuff that I'm giving you. Let me tell you about Jesus." It doesn't make any sense. Now, we believe that the end and the means must line up, and that's what these two verses are about. Anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. In what way? You want to build the kingdom, I mean the real kingdom, the one that really is and is advancing? You do it by righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, by seeing God work in this church, those things. So we hold in balance those three things we talked about last time: Gospel freedom, gospel purity and gospel unity in love. Those three things create a church that is powerful in the area of evangelism. Now as I close by way of application, let me ask you a question. Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do you know him? Have you trusted in him? Do you have righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you received the gift of righteousness by faith in the blood of Jesus? Is your conscience testifying to you that you are a child of God and that God is at peace with you? And if the answer to that is no, your conscience is not telling you that, you have never come to Christ, then today, repent and believe in Jesus. It's the greatest thing could ever happen to you. Your heart will be filled with a joy I can barely describe to you, the joy of knowing that you're going to heaven when you die. Come to Christ. But if you're a Christian, let me ask you, are you walking in this way? Are you serving Christ in this way, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Do you have a passion for outreach? Are you seeking to reach the lost or are you inviting people to church? Are you inviting people even more importantly to Christ? Are you talking to people about the gospel? And then does your life line up with it, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Are you serving Christ in this way? This I believe alone advances the kingdom, and this alone establishes that which can glorify God for eternity. Close with me in prayer.

Holy and Separate, Yet Engaging Effecting Change As we continue in our study in Romans 14 an incredibly important chapter. I think we come to the point where we are seeing one of the challenges of the church, the evangelical church in the west, the...

Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Romans 14:17-18. The main subject of the sermon is the greater things in the Kingdom of God: righteousness, peace, and joy.

The Foundation of Our Salvation Turn in your Bibles if you would to Romans 8:28-30. We have been moving our way through this, the most assuring and encouraging chapter of the Bible. We have seen that from beginning to end, God is speaking to us as his people a word of consolation, a word of comfort, a word of assurance, a word of certainty in an uncertain world. And as we've moved through this chapter, we have seen a building crescendo of assurance, of things that will give us assurance, starting with the historical fact of the giving of Jesus Christ on the cross, the fact that he died on the cross, his blood was shed. Right from the very beginning. It says, "What the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his Son in the likeness of a sinful man to be a sin offering." And so we have right at the very being of this chapter Jesus Christ portrayed before us on the cross. Dead on the cross, as an atonement for our sins. But it also speaks of the new life that we have in Christ. Not only are we dead with Christ spiritually but we're also risen with Christ spiritually. We have a new life, and it speaks of that as well. It says, "In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." And so we have a new life in the Spirit, and for those people, there is therefore now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because of the death of Christ, and because of the assurance we have of the new life in the Spirit, we know that there's no condemnation for us. And so Paul works his way through and gives us a solid assurance. From verse 1, "There is no condemnation," to verse 39, "There is no separation." God is speaking a word of consolation, a word of comfort, a word of assurance. And I'd like to ask you today: on what are you basing your confidence? What are you basing your assurance of salvation on? A building is only as secure as its foundation. What is the foundation of your assurance of salvation? Are you looking to yourself? Are you looking inward? Are you looking at your own faith, your own trust, your own life, your own achievements? And if so, I submit to you today that your foundation is weak. It's like quicksand and it will not stand up the trials and testing of life. A building is only as secure as the foundation. And I believe that God gives us in the verses we're looking at today an eternally secure foundation that our salvation is based on his eternal saving purposes in Christ. Purposes that were laid out, that were worked out before the foundation of the world. And that's a solid, secure foundation. Another way to look at it is that our assurance has a root system. A tree, a great tree is only as healthy as its root system. And our assurance is alive, isn't it? It's a living thing. And we are to be drawing nourishment from the doctrines we're looking at today. We're to be kind of sucking moisture and nourishment up out of the soil of doctrine so that we can stand up against the storms of life. How healthy is your root system? If you're looking inward, it's not healthy, it cannot survive, but if you're looking to God, the author and finisher of your faith, then you will survive every trial that you face. And so we're looking at the foundation of our assurance. We're looking at the root system of our assurance, and we're supposed to be drawing on it. Look at the first phrases that we're looking at, at verse 28. Roman 8:28, it says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." We know that. What is Paul doing? He's saying, we've learned this. We've come to understand these things. We're drawing on the doctrine. We know this. We are meditating on it. We're thinking about it. And based on that, we have a full, a healthy, a strong assurance of salvation. And so we're looking today at the foundation of our assurance, the foundation of our salvation really. We're looking at its root system. Our ultimate security comes from this. If you are a Christian, it is because God chose you before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. That's what Ephesians chapter 1 says, and Romans 8 teaches it too. If you're a Christian, it's because of God's eternal decree, his choice. And that means that God set his love on you before the foundation of the world. You personally. He knows you by name and he set his love on you before the foundation of the world. Before your ancestors crossed the ocean to get here, whenever that was, before the Pilgrims set foot on the Mayflower and crossed the Atlantic. If your ancestors were the Pilgrims, all the better for you. But before that even happened, before Columbus set foot on the Santa Maria, before the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, before Alexander the Great swept across Asia Minor, before the pyramid Cheops and the Sphinx, the timeless sphinx were built, before any of that. Before God said, "Let there be light," before any of that, he set his love on you in Christ. Amen. And that is the foundation of your security, it's the foundation of your assurance, and it will not be shaken no matter what happens to you in life. I. Deep Mysteries: God’s Eternal Decree, Our Present Suffering Now, Christianity is a mysterious religion. Is it not? We teach mysteries, aged-old ancient mysteries before the foundation of the world we're talking about. What other religion talks about these kinds of things? But we preach a mysterious gospel. We preach that God who created the ends of the earth, all the distant nebula and all that, took on a human body as a baby in a manger and grew up as a regular flesh and blood man. Is that not mysterious? How many of you sitting here can say, "I fully understand the incarnation of Jesus Christ, how he could be fully God and fully man." It's a mystery. We can't understand it. Can you understand how his coming to earth and the details of his life could have been written down on parchment and ink 600 to 1000 years before he was born. Can you understand that or is that not a mystery as well? We preach a mysterious religion. Can you understand the mysteries of Jesus's miracles? How he could speak to the winds and the waves, and instantly they would be still, or how he could walk on water, or even more risen from the dead on the third day, having something called a resurrection body that can suddenly appear and disappear and move through walls. Can you understand that? This is a mysterious faith that we have a mysterious religion, and I think of all the mysteries, perhaps the mysteries surrounding our salvation are the greatest, and we're not going to understand them all. We're going to try to plumb the depths today and the analogy I've used before we're out in a dingy over the Marianas Trench, seven miles down below is the bottom of that trench, and we're all going to pay out our string today and we're going to see if we can find the depth. We're going to find the bottom or we're going to run out of string. This is a mystery, the things we're talking about are mysterious, and yet God wants us to know them, doesn't he? Because he had Paul write this so that we would understand. The remarkable thing about the way Paul comes at assurance here, is this starts in the middle of our daily lives, all the suffering and struggle that we have. And he says that in the midst of all of that, all of those things that we struggle and suffer with in the midst of all of that, God causes it to work together for good. So he starts right in the middle of our lives, and then what does he do? He reaches back before the foundation of the world to something called predestination, before the foundation of the world, and he goes back there and then he goes across where we are now to the end of the world. Something called glorification. And so with starting where we are he reaches back in eternity past and out to eternity future, and then gathers this up into assurance. Isn't that remarkable? And he does it in three verses. You realize how difficult what I'm trying to do is today? I assume you hope to get out of here somewhere around noon. I know that. I can see it on your faces. I know that there are things that you're interested in but you realize that some pastors preach 17 or 18 weeks on these three verses? We are talking about the three great doctrines on which our assurance is based. Predestination, predestination before the foundation of the world. We're talking about providence, God's sovereign rule over everyday life. And we're talking about perseverance right to the end. That God is going to stick with us until he's finished with us. And we're going to do that in about 11 minutes. How can we do it? But that's what we're looking at today. Providence, predestination, perseverance, and all of this adds up to total assurance of salvation. God is at work in you and the things he's doing in you he's going to be working at until they're finished and it's going to hurt. It's going to be hard. There's going to be suffering. There's going to be struggle, but in all of this, God is working to accomplish his eternal purpose. And what is that purpose? That you be perfect in Christ, that you be conformed to Jesus Christ, that you're with him forever in heaven. And that is the highest and greatest assurance there is. I want you to understand differently and more strongly what it means when it says that nothing else in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. That's very specific theological language of a kind of love that was set on you before the foundation of the world. And it's not finished yet. The Love has got hold of you and he's working on you and he's going to keep working until he has finished and nothing will separate you from the love of God. And that's the basis of your assurance. Now, this is a difficult doctrine. Some people have a hard time with it. There was a poem written in 1894, you've heard it before, I'm sure some of you anyway, by William Ernest Henley. He was going through suffering. We all go through suffering. Christian and non-Christian alike go through hard times in life, and Henley was going through suffering. He lost his 6-year-old daughter, Margaret. She was the love of his life, the light of his life. He had already gone through a great deal of suffering. I won't bring you through the ups and downs, but he was not a believer in Jesus Christ. And he wrote a poem called Invictus, which means 'I have not been conquered'. And the first and last stanza runs like this, "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Well those are beautiful words, but they don't ring true to Scripture, do they? Now in one sense, we navigate the ship of state, the ship of our souls through all kinds of things, but are we able to navigate to heaven? Are we able to get through the trials of life, through Judgment Day, through all of the punishments written on the scroll? Are we able to get through all that and go to heaven? No. We must be saved. We must have a savior and we are not in fact the master of our fate and the captain of our soul if we hope to go to heaven, but rather that there's a savior and his name is Jesus Christ. The great Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon spoke about this doctrine, the sovereignty of God. And this is what he said, "There is no attribute more comforting to God's children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend than the doctrine of their master over all creation, the kingship of God over all the works of his own hands, the throne of God and his right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow him to be in his almonry to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties and goodness.They will allow him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends his throne, his creatures then gnash their teeth, and we proclaim an enthroned God, and his right to do as he wills with his own, to dispose of his creatures as he thinks well, without consulting them in the matter; then it is that we are hissed and execrated, then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on his throne is not the God they love. But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon his throne whom we trust." The thing that I want to say to you today is that God sitting on his throne, guarantees you salvation if you're one of his children. That is the solid foundation because God takes his sovereign power and puts it at the disposal of his church that they may be saved. II. Context of Assurance: Present Suffering Now what is the context of this word of assurance? Well, it is our present suffering, as we already talked about. We live in difficult times. September 11th opened the eyes of many people to the possibility of instant death quite frankly. And also of something as great as The World Trade Center, a landmark, really a symbol of New York City, instantly removed, and I think people were struck by that and they're still kind of reeling to some degree about it. But there have been other tragedies since then. You heard about the volcano that erupted in the Congo displacing 400,000 people from their homes, many of them are Christians. Your brothers and sisters in Christ displaced from their homes. Ongoing war between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Day after day after day we see the suffering in that small area. And then there's localized suffering. Duke Hospital and Durham Regional, every day little sagas of suffering and tragedy are being played out. Sometimes it touches you. Sometime in the future it may touch you. There's suffering in this world and in the middle of that suffering comes this word of assurance. Paul is speaking to people who are struggling and who are suffering with tragedies. Look at Romans 8:23. It says, "We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we groan inwardly." There's an internal groaning in the Christian life. There's a struggle and a suffering. And in the middle, we're tempted when a loved one is suddenly struck down or we ourselves receive a bad report from an oncologist, cancer has struck us, we're going to cry out, "God, where are you in all of this?" That's the time you've got to pull on your root system. You got to go back to the foundation and say, "God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him." There is Christian suffering. Look at verse 18: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." And so there is present suffering, but there is also a future glory and so the apostle is lifting our eyes off of our immediate circumstances of suffering to look upward to future glory. And so we are called to consider and to know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose. III. Text Overview: Flying Over the Peaks of God’s Sovereign Plan Now let's fly over the peaks of God's sovereign plan. Verse 28, it says, "We know that God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." The text proclaims to all believers there is a purpose for everything you go through. No tear is shed in vain, no pain is felt for nothing, everything works together to accomplish something. God's activity here is assumed, it's proclaimed. And so therefore the faulty idea of deism is excluded. The idea that God just created the world and lets it run, that he's somehow remote, that he's too busy or too strong or big to be involved in your small everyday affairs, that is false. God is actively involved in the minutia of your life. So deism is out. We have an active energetic God who's involved in your life. Also blind atheistic evolution is excluded, that posits a world that's just running like a machine all the time. I read a story recently about a farmer that got the leg of his trousers caught in a piece of farm equipment. It was in Reader's Digest. I won't tell you what happened, you don't want to know. But he survived as a heroic story. But there's a picture of the world just grabbing hold and pulling and chewing you up, it's all blind force. The machine doesn't know it's doing it to you, it's got nothing against you. It's just doing what it was designed to do. And so some people look at the world that way. It's a machine that chews and spits people out. But that is not biblical. God is alive and he rules. A sparrow doesn't fall to the ground apart from the will of God. It's a difficult doctrine but it's true. God is alive, he's a king, he's at work and so we exclude deism and we exclude atheistic evolution. Instead we look at a God who's sitting on his throne. And that leaves us with a problem, right? Why did this happen, or this thing occurred that was contrary to what seemed good for me? And it's hard to figure it out and I don't know that I will ever figure it out; none of us will. The other day I was doing a science project with my kids. And we took apart a Sony Walkman. Have you ever taken apart a Sony Walkman? But I am interested in this kind of things. I see some of you laughing. I know a mechanical engineering interest. But I wanted to see what was in there. The thing didn't work anyway. Batteries were dead, and it just wasn't working, so I wanted to take it apart. And so we did, and we snipped some wires, and that did it. Once the wires were snipped it would never work, again. And we took it apart. And on one side of it were electronic components and on the other side were mechanical components. And on the electronic side, I went through with my kids and I identified the little components that I knew and there are many I don't. And we looked at them and the tiny little things on the circuit board and all kinds of stuff. And then on the other side there are all these marvelous gears and pulleys, and all this stuff that attracted me into Mechanical Engineering to begin with. And I said, "Look at that. Look at that motor and how the pulley. And you notice how this turns clockwise, but then this one turns counter-clockwise. And some of the gears are big and some of them are small. And yet they all work together for a purpose, don't they? It's all been worked out by somebody very intelligent. And we don't always know why the motion moves this way or why it moves the opposite direction, but we know that it all works together for a purpose. And so it is with our lives, isn't it? Do you know why every little gear fits in, how it fits into your life? No you don't, and some of those it seems, work opposite to what you want, opposite to what you expect. Look at the circuit board. I asked my kids, I said, "If we took this out and threw it away, do you think it would work right?" They said, "We don't know." And I said, I don't either but the designer thought it needed to be in there. And so we don't really have the right to pull that little component out. It's very tiny, but it serves a purpose. And so it is with our days. Every little thing has a purpose. We don't know what that purpose is. We don't know why it's there. We don't have the right to throw it all out. If you had your life the way you wanted it, it would be all success, wouldn't it? It'd be all joy and mountaintop experiences and all that. And would you be conformed to perfection in Christ, thereby? I don't think so. God has marvelously mixed together, like a pharmacist, the chemicals of what you need to accomplish his purpose. And what is his purpose? Conformity to Christ. How do we know that that's his purpose? Well, he tells us. Look what he says, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." And by the way, that is very specific, isn't it? It's not that all things are working together for good for everybody. It's working together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. It's very clear. And who are those that love God? Well, I can tell you, none of us love God naturally. Romans Chapter 3 said that. There was no one righteous, no one who seeks God. So we didn't love God naturally. He saved us to love God. And he called us it says, according to his purpose. Well, what is that purpose? Look at verse 29. Now what's the first word in verse 29? Do you notice? It's the word "for." And what does that word 'for' teach you to do? Look backward at verse 28. Alright, what's the last thing in verse 28? His purpose. So verse 29 is going to tell us what that purpose is. You are called according to a purpose. What purpose? What is he doing in your life? What is he doing in the world? Look at verse 29. "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." Verse 30, "And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified." So that is the purpose of God, to take people like you, sinners like you, through a process so that you end up perfectly conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. That's also called, in verse 30, glorification. He has a purpose of glory for you. And he's bringing you through that purpose. Isn't that marvelous? And isn't it worth anything to go through, in order that that purpose might be accomplished? Not just for us, but for all of God's people. Of course it is, and that's the purpose that he's working it out. God is working an eternal purpose. Paul goes back to the beginning of time and he talks about the purpose of God. And he looks ahead to the end of time and that purpose is accomplished. The glory of his people. And then, there are steps in verse 30. Specific steps. Those he predestined, it says, he also called and those he called, he also justified, and those he justified, he also glorified. Well, the those in there are people. So it says, and the people he predestined, those people he also called, the people he called, those people he also justified, the people he justified, those same people he also glorified. He's working with people here. People like you and me. He's working with people. And what is he saying? God foreknew those people. He predestined those same people that he foreknew. He called the same people he predestined. He justified the same people he called and he glorified the same people he justified. That's the logical connection here. Some have called it the Golden Chain that connects us forever to God. I think it's beautiful. I like to think of the image of a train. When I was in Japan, my children and I and my wife got on one of those bullet trains called the Shinkansen. And, boy, those things… They move. Incredible, but one of the key things you need to know before you get on the Shinkansen is, what your destination is? Where you're going to end up? Especially if you don't speak the language, that's very important. Very important to know where are we getting off? Because if we end up on the other side of the island, I want to know how to get back. And so, the destination is important. The destination is where you're getting off. Predestination is that the destination is been determined ahead of time. And so, we get on a train and then we go through certain stops. We go through from foreknowledge, to predestination, to justification, to glorification through these stops, and nobody gets off the train. The same people that begin, finish. And that is a solid foundation of assurance, is it not? Nobody jumps off. You don't want to jump off anyway. But we all make it through. I've used this illustration before, but I think it's beneficial. How would you feel if you are parents of children and sent them off to camp. And you went there for Parents Day and said, "We want you to know that 95% of your children are still alive and with us. So be comforted." Would you be comforted with that? 95% of the children that we entrusted to your care are still alive? Is that comforting? Not at all. We need a 100% or else we're going to be anxious. We need to know, "Is our salvation guaranteed, or am I going to end up in hell?" That matters. That matters a lot. It affects the way you live your life. God wants us to have assurance, and so, he's saying 100%, "Those that are foreknown go all the way through to what? Glorification." That's what the Scripture says. And that gives us our assurance. Now we've overlooked this whole thing. We've seen this whole thing in a big way, but I want you to see God's activity in it all. There's no room for human pride here, is there? Look at it again. I'm going to put the word God in there instead of he. "For those God foreknew, God also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and those God predestined, God also called, and those God called, God also justified, and those God justified, God also glorified." God is the actor here, and no one is powerful enough to break up what God is doing. Says in the Book of Isaiah 14:27, "his hand is stretched out and who can turn it back?" Our sovereign God. Now, let's look at details specifically in these steps. Foreknowledge Let's start with foreknowledge. It says, "Those whom God foreknew." First of all, the thing to notice here is that God does not foreknow in this particular verse, programs, methods, procedures, possibilities. What does he foreknow? Or I should ask, who does he foreknow? He foreknows people. Those people whom he foreknew. He knows people. Now, what does this mean foreknowledge? Well, there are two different ways of understanding foreknowledge. One is that God knows things about people and the other's that God knows people themselves. In the one sense God foreknows things about people. This is a kind of a man-centered way of looking at it, that God looks through the corridors of time and picks out people that will someday believe in Jesus, and based on that foreknowledge of what they will do he chooses them. Thus his choice of people is based on their prior to some degree choice of him. So he looks down through the corridors of time and says, "Oh there's one, and there's another one, and there's another one." And based on what he discovers in you, he chooses you. But the problem is that Jesus himself said, "You did not choose me, but I [what?] chose you." "This is love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." So I don't think it's that God foreknows things about you, although he does know everything about you. David said, "Before a word is on my tongue, you know it altogether, Oh Lord. All of the days of my life were written in your book before any of them came to be." David knew about that. There is that kind of foreknowledge, but that's not what's discussed here. I believe instead, he foreknows you in a covenant relationship. I love the King James version on some of these things. It says back in the Old Testament, you remember that story about Adam and Eve, and after the fall, and then it says that Adam knew Eve and she conceived and gave birth to Cain? When you read that, you say, "what do you mean he knew her?" Well, that's a simple translation of the Hebrew word, Yada is the word. It's just simple word for know. Adam knew his wife, but we all know what it means, don't we? Okay. You just have to read it in context. Do you know what it means? Well, the interesting thing is that same knowledge is taken over into the New Testament twice. One of them is in Matthew 1:24 and 25. This is in the King James version. "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel had bidden him and took Mary home as his wife. And he knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn and he called him Jesus." What does it mean that Joseph knew her not. Well, you know what it means. It doesn't mean that he didn't know anything about her. He knew her very well, but he didn't know her with covenant love. It says the same thing in Luke 1:34. Mary answered the angel, "how shall this be seeing that I know not a man?" Well, she knew lots of men. She knew all about them. She knew Joseph. She knew men, but she didn't know a man not in this covenant love sense. And that's what I believe this foreknowledge is. God looks through the quarters of time and sets his love, his covenant love on a people. Same thing is true of Judgment Day. There are things Christ knows and there are people he doesn't know. What does Christ know on Judgment Day? Everything. Everything. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. He knows it all. You'll have to give an account on Judgment Day for every careless word you've spoken. He knows it all, but yet he will say, "I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers." Those that he has not set that covenant love on. "I never knew you." Not "you never knew me. " He’ll say "I never knew you." That's a mystery, isn't it? But I believe it's the same knowledge that Paul's discussing here with foreknowledge. Predestination The next step is predestination. I want you to look down at the Bible open in your lap, and I want you to see that word there. There you go. Some of you are looking. Predestination is a biblical term, is it not? Therefore, if you want to be a biblical Christian, you have to believe in predestination. Now, I'm not saying that it's not mysterious. I said at the beginning, there are many mysteries, but there's this word, predestination. It's simply not possible for a Bible believing Christian to reject the idea of predestination. It's taught in the Bible. It's deep. You'll never fully understand it. You're going to run out of string before we hit the bottom, but it's there and it's biblically taught. Even worse, I think we have a natural predisposition against it. We want to be the master of our fate. We want to be the captain of our soul. We want to feel that we're free. The Bible teaches our freedom. We have free decisions that we can make, and we are responsible for those decisions but yet, at the same time, the Bible teaches predestination. Now, that was clearly operating concerning the death of Christ. The night that Jesus was arrested, Peter drew his sword to protect him. You remember? What was Peter protecting Jesus from? Peter was protecting Jesus from his own salvation, because if Peter had succeeded in Jesus not dying, what would've happened to Peter's soul on Judgment Day? He'd have died in his transgressions and sins. Thankfully, Jesus knew exactly what was happening. He said, "Peter, put your sword away. If I wanted to be saved, I wouldn't be saved by your sword. I would call on my Father and he would send angels. But how then would the Scripture be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" What does that mean, it must happen in this way? "I've got to be arrested." "The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him," Jesus said. Acts 2:23, Peter picked up on this. In preaching on Pentecost he said, "this man [Jesus] was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." And then in their prayer in Acts 4:27-28, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had predestined should happen." Same word. So the death of Christ had been figured out before the foundation of the world. Thus, the Book of Revelation calls Jesus the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world, and so he was. Now, it says here in our text, that we were predestined for something. The idea is that the destination of the train has been figured out. Those God foreknew he also predestined for something, predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, or in verse 30, to be glorified. What does that mean? Well, it means very plainly that you were not chosen to start your race, you were chosen to finish your race. He who began a good work and you will carry it on to completion unto the day of Christ Jesus. You're not chosen to start. You're chosen to finish, and you will finish. Somebody say, "Praise God." We're going to finish. You're going to go to heaven if you're a child of God, because you're predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Now, who is predestined? Well, look at verse 33. It says, "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen," or the elect is another way to translate that. "It is God who justifies, who is he that condemns?" There are these people whom God has chosen, and those are the ones that he has worked on. His ultimate purpose, his final glory in the image of Christ, that Christ "might be the firstborn," it says, "among many brothers." It says the same thing in Ephesians 1, "For he chose us in Christ 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." The highest end though, isn't your salvation. It actually isn't. It's the thing that brings you most joy and we should all look forward to it, but the highest end is his own glory, that he, Jesus, might be the firstborn among many brothers. For the glory of Jesus Christ, all of this was done. Calling The next step is calling. It says in verse 28, "Those who are called according to his purpose," and verse 30, it says, "Those he predestined he also called." What is this calling? Well, the Bible talks about two kinds of calling. One of them is happening right now. When I speak the Word of God, sound goes through this auditorium, through the air, and hits your eardrums, and your eardrums vibrates, and what happens after that? I don't know. We'll have to get the doctors to tell you, and they'll explain it. But the eardrums vibrate and into the brain, come the words. That's one kind of calling. And many people receive that calling. Many people hear the open proclamation of the Word. That calling goes out to the ends of the earth. That's one kind of calling. There's a general invitation of the proclamation of the Gospel, but then there's a second kind of calling and Jesus showed that by saying, "Many are called, but few are" what? "chosen." "Many are called," said Jesus, "but few are chosen." So the Word goes out, the voice goes out to the ends of the earth. But then there's a second kind of calling. 2 Corinthians 4:6, "God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." And so what happens is, as the sound of the Gospel goes out, the Holy Spirit moves and suddenly, you're regenerated. It's similar to the calling that occurred when Lazarus was laying on a slab, and Jesus stood in front of Lazarus' tomb and said, "'Take away the stone…." "'But Lord,' said Martha, the sister of the dead man, 'by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days. ' Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? '" And so, they moved the stone and then Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of those standing near here." And then what happened? He called Lazarus. Do you know what I'm talking about? What did he say? "Lazarus, come out!" Now, if I had been there and said Lazarus come forth, what would have happened? That's right. Nothing. But if the Holy Spirit says it, if Jesus says it, now, that's something else entirely, isn't it? And so, when he says, "Lazarus, come forth!" Something happened to Lazarus, something different. He's not dead anymore. He's alive. And then of his own free will, he obeyed that command, didn't he? And, yes, he did. He swung those legs out, and he came out, and he said, take those grave clothes and let him go. Lazarus was... He was given a choice there, wasn't he? Let's see, I can stay in the tomb, or I can come out and be with Jesus and have a victory celebration party at my house tonight. Stay in the tomb, or victory celebration with Jesus. Tomb vs Jesus. Choice, free choice. May I ask you a question? Billion people in that choice, how many are going to stay in the tomb? Zero, none. Would you? Think about it. Would you stay in the tomb or would you come out in the sunshine and be with Jesus? Of course, he obeyed of his own free will, but God's call came first, and he moved, and they had that victory celebration that night. And that's what happened to you. The called according to his purpose. He spoke, you heard the sound waves of the Gospel, but you've heard that before. Suddenly something happened by the Spirit and you were regenerated to newness of life, and you swung your legs off that slab and you started to walk with Jesus. You're the called, according to his purpose. Justification Well, justification, we've already talked about the moment that you swung your legs out and started to walk, at the moment you believed, you were justified of all your sin, we've covered that already. All of your sins forgiven, and then the future we've talked about as well. Glorification Glorification, instantly conformed, so that Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. Then the righteous will shine and says like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. On what are you basing the confidence of your salvation? Is it on your own believing, your own strength, your own convictions, you're such a strong person? Or is it because God set his love on you and he will not let you go? I think it's the second, and because of that, I have tremendous joy in my salvation. IV. Application: Unshakable Joy, Deep Humility What application can we make of this? Well, so much, but I want to focus on four. First of all, joy. I want you to rejoice even in your sufferings. You know, the gears of your life are turning. God is accomplishing things in you. It's not all going to be cake and ice cream. There's going to be suffering, there's going to be struggle. Paul said, "It's through much hardship that we enter the kingdom of God." It's hard, and God is working that in you for his purpose. Have joy in the middle of it. Second, I want you to have assurance of your salvation. That's the whole purpose of the chapter, but it is the purpose specifically of these doctrines. Assurance of salvation, realize that if you're a child of God, your salvation is guaranteed. Thirdly, humility. Do you realize this is not of you, so that no one may what? Boast. Let him who boast, boast in who? The Lord. We get assurance and we get humility. And then finally I want you to have wisdom. I want you to look at your life and the life of everyone in the world differently. Once you realize that God is wise and he's working things out even in September 11 terrorist attacks, and in earthquakes, and in volcanoes, and in your own private sufferings as well. God is doing all things for his wise and eternal purpose. That's a word to Christians. But if you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, can I urge you today to not leave this room without trusting in Christ? If today you hear the call of God, don't harden your heart, but listen, and follow, and walk with Jesus that you might have eternal life. Trust in him. If you're hearing Jesus calling you today, follow him.