All Things...

All Things - audio

All Things from Rayshawn Graves on Vimeo.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.


The point of this sermon was to prove that God does all things for His glory and for the good of His people. This is clearly seen in scripture in Romans 8:28 and in Colossians 1:15-16. God is a Sovereign ruler who upholds His supreme glory in all things and displays that glory in the conforming of sinners into the image of His Son. This is the purpose of God in working all things for good, to those that love Him, and this pattern is seen all over the Bible, in that God works through good things to work good, and God works through evil, sin and suffering for the same good. In a world that is full of sin and wickedness, many people believe ignorantly and faithlessly that God is not in control. This belief is followed up by the notion that "God, being all knowing-and holy and pure, couldnt have known that things would end up this way.", and the flipside to this notion is to make Satan and evil a sovereign that somehow frustrates God's plans and purposes; and for all the Good that He is, there is an equally present and equally powerful Evil that works against His purposes. Contrary to those who believe this, this isnt a Power Rangers episode...God isnt constantly coming up with new ways and methods to "outsmart" evil and work good in spite of it. The Bible doesent teach this. God does work all things for His purposes in spite of evil and sin and Satan, but Scripture teaches that this "in-spite of" is actually more like a "through". So God decrees the end from the beginning, He establishes His plan from before the foundation of the world, He permits, allows, and overrules evil and sin in this plan and channels it to fulfill His pre-determined puropses.
I outline this pattern in scripture with 5 examples starting with Joseph and ending with Jesus. I hope that you will see the truth that God, although holy, pure and sin-hating, permits and overrules sin (not morally) for His holy and wise purposes, so that He might be glorified.
The application of God's working all things for His people is that no matter what comes our way as Christians: sword, famine, pestilence, bad economies, lost loved ones, demonic opposition, tribulation, principalities, etc; in all of these things, when they come,we, who are in Christ, are more than conquerers.This should be comforting to the one who loves God because we know that nothing can separate us from His love, and whatever serves and intends to separate us, will only refine and strengthen us.


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