For This Purpose

CCI Fellowship's podcast discusses the message from Romans 8:28, which says that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. The speaker challenges the common belief that everything happens for a reason, stating that it is bad doctrine to believe that God is responsible for all the events in our lives. Instead, the speaker emphasizes personal responsibility and the need to understand that while God can bring good out of any situation, He does not necessarily cause all the good or bad things that happen to us. Welcome to CCI Fellowships podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Amen. Are you here? Great. Open your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. I was preaching in our home church, and I said, open your Bibles, and nobody did anything. Of course, because that's something we do. But it was like, okay, you're just going to have to bear with me and do this anyway, otherwise I can't get started right. Romans 8, we're going to read verse 28. The title of the message tonight is For This Purpose. And ironically, whenever we go on a trip, whenever we visit the churches that support us, I'm usually praying and asking God, okay, what is it that you want me to share? Beyond just the update of what's going on, what is the word that you want me to give to encourage people? And typically, it's the same message throughout the different churches that we visit. And so I was thinking back through things that I had preached this year, and things that God had said and done, and none of those were fitting. None of those were coming up as, yeah, talk about this. There were good things, but that doesn't mean it was the right thing for that day. And the Lord gave me one morning this message that I'm going to share with you. It's actually the fourth time I've shared this, but don't think that it is a stale message just because it's the fourth time. Every time I preach the same message, it comes out differently, and a different aspect of it gets highlighted. And so I believe that there is an aspect of this message that God wants us to know that is for us. The message as a whole is for all believers. It is something that we all need to grow in and understand. But then within that, there's something specific that the Lord would want to teach us as CCI Fellowship. Does that make sense? So Romans 8, verse 28, we know it well. It says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. In the Amplified Bible, it says, We are assured and know that God being a partner in their labor, all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose. Let's pray. Father, we magnify You, and I thank You for this day, this opportunity to be home, to be again with this body of believers that You have given us, that You have allowed us to be a part of. I thank You, Father, for each person that is here, for what You're doing in their lives, for what You have continued to do and what is to come. I pray, Lord God, that as they may think of different situations that they're facing as we go through this sermon and as we talk about this verse, Father, may they, by the end of this, Lord God, may each of us, by the end of this, be encouraged to know, Lord God, that You work it all together for our good. You're working all things for our good. We pray, Father, that You would give us eyes to see, that You would give us ears to hear, that You would give us a heart that is teachable and ready to receive from Your Holy Spirit, that which He would desire to write upon it. We thank You for hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone, hearts upon which You can write Your law instead of hearts that reject it. Father, we thank You for Your anointing that flows in this place. We thank You, Lord God, for Your love for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I could also title this message, Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Silly Things Christians Believe. It's a very common phrase, everything happens for a reason. And a lot of times people use this phrase to explain what they're going through. We use it as a catch phrase, but it has become within the church something that is bad doctrine, actually. And people use this verse to support that. Well, you know that everything happens for a reason and you know that God works everything for us. But the way that they present this verse is that God is the culprit for everything that happens in our lives. I would like to say that there's no one in this congregation that thinks that way, but that's just simply not true. I've had those conversations with some people before. And they'll say, well, this is a very common one. They'll say, well, God knew I needed to rest and that's why I got sick. So you're telling me that God made you sick because He knew you needed to rest? So then, if you follow this thinking out, then the stripes that Jesus bore on His back were in vain. Because Isaiah and Peter tell us, by His stripes we are healed. So what you're saying is that God made you sick because you weren't smart enough to take a Sabbath. That's really what is coming out of what you were saying. And that's not true. You were sick because you're not diligent enough to take a Sabbath. And whenever you run your body over and over and over to the point of exhaustion, your immune system weakens and you're susceptible to sickness. It's not God that made you sick. You made you sick. Oh, but you know, God works all things together for good. Yes, if we read the verse correctly, we see that God works things after they happen. This happened, this circumstance transpired, and God will bring a good end to it. A good example of this is found in James. So turn to James. Turn to James. I want to use Lot as an example here. Because we think of Lot, Abraham's nephew. We think of the terrible decisions that he made. We think of how he went and lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. How he lived in the center of a very sinful people. A people that God sent angels down to destroy the cities because of how sinful they were. And Lot chose to live there. And in James chapter 1, it says this about Lot. Where is it? It's there. Come on. It's not James, is it? It's coming. 2 Peter. Thank you. Sorry. My fault. Obviously. It's not your fault. James is a good verse. It's part of it. It's just 2 Peter 2 that I want. OK. It says in verse... Start in verse 4. Making them an example to those who would afterward live ungodly and delivered. And delivered righteous Lot. Now if you go back to Genesis and read the story of Lot. You would not get the picture of a righteous person. Yet scripture says that he was righteous. So we must take that as truth that he was righteous. It says, delivered righteous Lot who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling among them... Why did he go there? Did Lot go there because God sent him there? Do we have an account in scripture where God spoke through an angel to Lot and say, Go live among these wicked people. No. Lot chose to live there. Abraham said to him, Look, our flocks are too big to be together. You pick a direction and go that direction. I'll pick the opposite direction and I'll go that direction. They split up because where they were wasn't big enough to hold them both. And Lot chose Sodom and Gomorrah. You find in the story that he camped in the mountains. Then he camped in the valley. And soon Lot was there, pitched his tent outside the city. And then we find later that he has his house within the city and is a well-known person within the community. He wasn't just somebody living there. He was actually known. But you see, Lot did that himself. Lot put himself in that situation. And it says, Who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked? For that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. Yet he still lived there. He could have moved, but he still lived there. But, verse 9, Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. That is what this verse in Romans 8 is talking about. God knows how to take the situations that you are in and work them for your good. And there are many times that we can say, I don't deserve for God to get me out of this mess. I got myself into this. Lot got himself into that mess. It was a horrible mess he was in. Lot caused that trouble for himself and for his household. And yet God said that he was a righteous person and delivered him from that situation. So what we find, we always, we try to explain things and we come with this understanding or this statement of, well, you know, God will forgive me for what I've done, but I still have to suffer the consequences of what I've done. And sometimes that's true. Sometimes we live in the consequences or the immediate consequences of the things that we put ourselves in. But we also see that though we face consequences, God is able to bring that situation out for our good. We were talking with a couple this year that was experiencing some marital issues. A big part of it self-inflicted. And he said, well, you know, God knew this needed to happen to reveal what was in me. Well, yeah, God knew it needed to happen, but that doesn't mean God caused it to happen. And this is where we need to get ourselves corrected. And this is where James comes in. In James 1, verse 13 and 15 to 15. It says, let no one say when he is tempted, I'm tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. God does not tempt anyone, nor is he tempted. Does God allow things to happen in our lives? Yes. Does God cause things to happen in our lives? Sometimes, but not always. And we cannot state and use this verse as proof that God causes the good and the bad things to happen in our lives. We can't throw all the blame on him. There are those who would say, when things are going wrong, well, God must be punishing me for something. And when things are going right, they say, I'm living a good life. When it's wrong, it's God's fault. When it's right, it's to their credit. That's just not true. I saw a billboard one time that said, because people say, well, everything happens for a reason. It said, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes that reason is you're stupid and you made bad decisions. I'll paraphrase it and say it a little better, because saying you're stupid kind of is an identifier. You made a stupid decision. Let's just say it that way. Things happen, a lot of times, because we make dumb decisions. And it is harm that is self-inflicted, rather than discipline from God, or rather than an attack from the enemy. Because there exists such a thing as free will. So I want to draw out of this, this is what the part of this message I feel is for us, something that I have taught many times, about the factors that are at work in life. And I have typically brought up three factors, but this time there are four. So these are the four things that I want you to take with you today. There are four factors at work in life. And to misquote this verse in Romans chapter 8, we have to ignore that one of these is not at work. If we are to say that God is the author of everything, no matter what it is that we face, then we have to ignore the fact that we have a real enemy. We have to ignore the fact that we have free will. We have to ignore the fact that we live in a fallen world. If we say that it's God, or if we say that it's all Satan, then we remove the responsibility for our own actions. And that's not the case either. Four factors at work in our lives. The first one is God's will for your life and your situation. God's will for your life and situation. Psalm 37 23 says, The steps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord. Your steps are ordered by God. You can walk in those steps. You can walk beside those steps. Or you can walk completely a different direction. But anything but walking in the ordered steps of the Lord, you are going to invite upon yourself trouble. Well, how do I know what steps to walk in? Well, the answer will come at the end. I'll answer that question. Hebrews 12 verse 3 through 11 talks about the Lord's discipline. That He disciplines those He loves. And if we are not disciplined, then we are not sons. I, for one, want to be known as a son of God. Therefore, when He needs to discipline me, then I welcome that discipline. However, not everything that happens in our lives is God's discipline for us. We must stop blaming God for every negative thing that happens in our life. You see, what God doesn't do is create negative circumstances in your life just so He can bring about a positive end. Does that make sense? He's not working the negative in your life just so He can set Himself up to be glorified by bringing a positive end out of it. That's really good. If I need to say it again, I'll say it again. Did you get it? No? You need to say it again? No. It's a whole lot easier just to say it again. God is not setting up negative things in your life just so He can bring about a positive end. Sickness is an example. Car accident is an example. Anything negative that you can think of, God is not inflicting that on you just so that He can set Himself up to work out a good end in your life. He takes what happens and makes something good out of it for you. You lose your job. Oh, well, God took this job from me. No. You lost your job. Maybe you lost your job because you're a bad worker. Maybe you lost your job because you spent too much time playing solitaire instead of doing your work. Oh, but you know, God shut this door so He'll open another. Oh, you know, you probably shut the door. God will open another, but He's not setting you up for failure just so He can set Himself up for success. So we must stop blaming God for all the negative things that happen in our life. The second force at work, of course, is Satan and his kingdom. And many times God's will and Satan's will are at work in the same situation that you're facing. Satan's will trying to bring you into ruin, trying to draw you away from God, trying to get you mad at God for what you're facing. And God's will trying to draw you closer to Him, trying to help you grow in your faith. We know that faith is not proven unless it is tested. Faith is not tested unless we have opportunity to use it. And the opportunity to use our faith is found when we find ourselves in some of the most difficult situations. Remember, as we talked about in Hebrews 4, verse 16, it says, Let us boldly come to the throne of God, that we might find grace and favor in our time of need. Our time of need is not when everything is all in order and perfect. Our time of need is when we really need that faith to be strong. When the world has fallen apart around us, that's when the time of need is. And God says, come at that time and lay it at His feet and He will work it together. John 10, verse 10 says, The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I think it's pretty clear that we can't blame God for that. We can't throw the responsibility on God for that. We have a very real enemy in Satan and his kingdom. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. God is not working in your life to take life from you. It would be contrary to His word, contrary to His promises, contrary to the truth of who He is, contrary to His faithfulness. It's the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy. It's the thief that wants to draw you from God. It's the thief who cannot defeat God. Satan can't defeat God. We sing the song, you have no rival, you have no equal. Well, there's Satan. Satan is not God's equal. Does Satan fight against God and His people? Yes. Has Satan ever defeated God? All together, class. Has Satan ever defeated God? A rival is somebody that there is win and loss on both sides. There's no rival for God. He never loses. So since Satan can't ever win against God, he tries to win against his people. But we have the victory through Jesus Christ. Romans 8 says that we are more than conquerors. In all of these things, it says, we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. He can attack, but he has no right to win. In the same manner that we are to stop blaming God for every negative thing, we shouldn't blame Satan for every negative thing either. Oh well, it's just the enemy. Oh well, it's just the enemy. Oh well, the devil's attacking me. I just feel so weak. I just feel, you know, I'm not strong in my faith. Have you been coming to church? Have you been praying? Have you been seeking God? Have you been nourishing yourself spiritually? Well, no, not really. It's not the enemy that's making you feel weak. It's your lack of nourishment that's making you feel weak. It's not always Satan's fault. The third thing at work is our own free will. Our daily decisions and actions carry a cause and effect. There's always a choice. We're never forced to do anything. If you realize that you were never forced into salvation, that was your choice. If you've made the greatest decision there ever is to have been made, and God leaves it up to us to make that decision, He makes salvation available for everyone, but will everyone choose salvation? No. If the greatest decision there is to make in this side of heaven, God tells us if we make it, or He leaves it to us to make, how much more every other decision in our life are we responsible for? Romans 8, verse 12 says, in the New Living Translation, I love this, the way that this is written. For comparison, I'll read it in the New King James. Romans 8, verse 12. It says, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. We are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. Verse 13, For if you live according to the flesh, you'll die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. In the New Living Translation, verse 12 says, You are under no obligation to do what your sinful nature craves. It doesn't get more plain than that. You are under no obligation to do what your sinful nature craves. Oh, well, the devil's really attacking me, and I just can't hold up against this temptation. I've given in. You are under no obligation to do anything that your sinful nature wants you to do. You are under no obligation to do anything that Satan and his kingdom would tempt you to do. Temptation is not the sin. Giving in to temptation, that's the sin. Our own free will brings us into situations, but the promise remains true that God will work all things together for our good. To those that love God and are called according to His will and purpose. Do you love God today? I'm not convinced. Do you love God today? Are you called by Him? Some doubt out there. If you love God and you serve Him, I guarantee you, you are called by Him. There are those who have been called. There are those that the call has gone out to who have chosen not to love Him. But if you find yourself in the place where you can honestly say, Yes, I love God, then I guarantee you 100% by Scripture that you are one who has been called by God. Therefore, this verse belongs to you. To those that love God and are called according to His will and purpose. This verse will not work for somebody who is not living a life that loves God. Many of the promises in Scripture will not work for those who are not surrendered to God. By our own free will we can draw close to God and by our own free will we can walk away from Him. By our own free will we can surrender the decisions of our lives to Him and the leading of the Spirit. Or by our own free will we can say, It's okay God, I got this one. This is an easy decision. I don't need the leading of the Holy Spirit for this. Those moments are saved for what color shoes are you going to wear today. Those moments are not what job should I have, what person should I marry, where should I live, what church should I go to. I don't know how it is out there, but up here I'm preaching pretty good. Don't blame yourself for every negative thing in your life. I know the first two I put a lot of the blame on ourselves, but this is just as true. Don't blame yourself for everything. We're responsible for a lot, but we're not responsible for everything. We have an enemy and he has come to steal, kill and destroy. We have a God who loves us and brings discipline into our lives. So we need to ask, What am I being disciplined for? If that is the case. The fourth thing, and this is also why I say don't blame yourself for every negative thing that happens, is that we simply live in a fallen world. In fact, Romans chapter 8 deals with that as well. If you don't know me well, you won't know this, so I'll let you know this now. In my opinion, Romans chapter 8 is the greatest chapter in the whole Bible. I love the book of Romans and I love chapter 8. From beginning to end, it lays out everything you need to know about Christ, about his sacrifice for us, about our freedom from the curse, about our sonship with him, about suffering, about the love that we'll never be separated for, about the victory that we live in his name. This chapter is so complete. But it says in Romans 8 that even creation groans, waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. Creation is subject to the curse. And while the sacrifice of Christ on the cross has delivered us from the curse, has delivered us from the law of sin and death, creation is still groaning. Creation is still suffering from the curse that was placed upon it. It's pretty obvious. It doesn't take great examples to know that. We live in a cursed world. But we live as uncursed people. I was trying to think of an analogy. And the one I came up with is especially now in the rainy season. And the road to our house, we invite you to come on Thursday. Just know that the road to our house is muddy. Because we live in the mountains. And there's mud. When it rains, there's mud. If you walk on our road, by the time you get to your home, or get to where you're going, your shoes will be muddy. We got back from the States, we got both of our cars washed. By the time we got home, they were muddy. We go to La Colonia, and the guy's like, do you want me to wash your car? I'm like, why? It's going to look the same when I get home. It just, it gets muddy. Because there's mud. If you stand near a puddle and a car goes by, it's going to splash you. You're going to get muddy. But that's different than taking a swim in the mud hole. Life happens. Life happens. We live in a fallen world. There are things that are going to affect us. But we don't have to wallow in it, and we don't have to welcome it, and we don't have to put ourselves in a place like Lot put himself to suffer from it because we weren't smart. So where does that leave us? Where does that leave us with this verse? I want you not to say, everything happens for a reason. I want you instead, and I believe that God would call us to this, have the perspective that no matter what happens, God will bring reason out of it. Not it just happens for a reason, that's very arbitrary. But that what happens in life, because we love God and because we are called according to His will and purpose, God's going to work it out for our good. And God's going to work it out for His glory. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16 and 18 says, Therefore, we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. Even though our outward man faces stress, even though one of the greatest difficulties in life is dealing with other people. It is. Oh man, if everybody was like me, it would be so much easier. No, because then you'd have to deal with yourself and you'd realize that you're flawed. We're all flawed. That's why we come to God in the first place. We are works in progress. He's continuing to develop us, cause us to grow and that should be our desire. That is the joy that lies within us. Somebody asked me about the war that's going on in Israel and said, do you think it's going to escalate into something greater? And I found myself saying, isn't that what our hope is in Christ? We're kind of want all of this to end so we can go to heaven already. When we look at it, we're like, no, we don't want this. We don't want that. Though the outward is perishing. The inward man is being renewed day by day. Verse 17 for our light affliction. Romans 8 verse 18 says the same thing. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, the fallen world, the difficulties of life, the trials and tribulations that we go through. The failings, the shortcomings, the discipline we face from God. While we do not focus on those things. But at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary. But the things which are not seen are eternal. Romans 8 18 says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. I think we can read this verse, the glory which shall be revealed in us. And we think revealed one day whenever eternity happens. But if we follow the thought. From what Paul says, he works it all together for good. If we keep that in mind, that glory can be revealed in us today. Right now, in our situation that we're facing. Your situation is temporary. Oh, but it's been going on for 10, 15 years. It's still temporary. In the light of eternity, that's nothing. And under the promises of God, that he faithfully keeps his word. Though it seem like a long time, it is but a moment. And though it seem like heavy affliction, it is feather light compared to the weight of glory. My prayer all the time when we come together as a congregation is, Lord, let the weight of your glory come upon us. That's our heart's desire. As the worship team comes, let me leave you with this. Discernment. These four things are always at work. So we need discernment. What is discernment? The ability to figure something out. The ability to know what is going on for real. There's a story in the Old Testament where the army had come to arrest Elisha. And his servant went to the door and went out and shut the door real quick because of how many were out there. And Elisha was like, don't worry about it. And he prayed and said, God, open his eyes that he may see there are more on our side than there are against us. God opened the eyes of the servant and he was able to see that the hills were full. Of angels. Oh, that God would help us to discern that there are more for us than there are against us. That he would help us to discern whenever he as a loving father would bring discipline on us so that we would respond to that discipline and not find ourselves in the same situation. Oh, that we would discern when the enemy has tried to encamp around us and tried to set up attacks against us. That we would stand in the victory that we have been given in Christ and say, you can't cross that line. Oh, that we would discern when the things that we're facing are self-inflicted and run to the throne of God to find help in our time of need and say, God, I'm sorry for causing this in my life. I'm sorry that I have failed in this. Lord, I made a mess of it. Can you fix it? And have him say, sometimes he said, yes, you really screwed up this time, but I'm still going to fix it. I'm still going to fix it. May God give us discernment. May we remember that though we face trials and tribulations, the inward man is being strengthened day by day and drawn closer to him. Let's stand together. Father, we worship you and we praise you. We thank you, Lord God, for, again, the opportunity to gather together. We thank you, Lord God, that you work all things for our goods. You take the situations of life, no matter what the source is, and you cause things to happen for our good. Yes, there's sadness when something happens. There's regret. There's all of these different emotions that we go through. There's all of these different things that we face, Lord God, but the truth of the matter is that you will work it for our good. You will take it, Lord God, and bring out a beautiful end to it. An end that benefits us, that encourages others, and that glorifies your name. So, Father, we submit to you that we choose, Lord God, to walk with our eyes open and with our hearts listening to your spirit. That we would walk in the steps that you have ordained for us, that you have ordered for us, that you be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you are ever in the Tegucigalpa area and looking for an English-speaking congregation, please join us on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the main auditorium of Iglesia CCI in Colonial Trepichi, just off Boulevard Sollapa, near Una. If you would like prayer or more information about our church, contact us at fellowship.cci at gmail.com. That's fellowship.cci at gmail.com, or follow us on social media. We hope to see you or hear from you soon. Blessings. .