Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most
recent sermons and more. Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library
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If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in just a moment
in Romans chapter 8. If you don't have a Bible at the end of the service, stop by here by this black
table. We've got some black Bibles that are back there. We'd love for you to grab one of those.
You can have one of those. It is yours. It is already for you. We want everyone to have a copy
of God's Word, so please make sure that you stop by. And I want to echo what Berger said as well. If
you are a first-time guest, we want to invite you. My wife and I will be back here at the table as well
after the service is over with. We know you have a lot of places to be, but if you would just mind
stopping back there so that we can meet you, so that we can thank you for being here, for worshiping
with us, and just to be a part of that. One of the things about our church that I love so, so much
is the opportunity that I have to take what God's been doing in my life and growing as a teacher of
the Bible over 24 years now that God's given me the opportunity to do this and to invest in others
who want to grow and do that. And this summer has been a lot with that. Robert Stevens is doing an
internship, a teaching internship here through Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he's
a student to get his Master's of Divinity that's there. So, Robert and I are working on some things
with teaching. I've got the wonderful privilege, and this is really exciting and fun, to work with
about four of our high school students who are looking to grow in becoming Bible teachers, and we
will be using them on a lot of our youth trips to actually teach the Scripture for the week for the
students who are there. And so, a wonderful opportunity. Like, if you want to learn some great
questions and insights on Bible passages, like sit down with high school students and let them, as they
dig through, ask those questions as well. But then also, one of the things in culminating today
is Josh Nix, who's been on staff with us now this year working in our young adult ministry area,
is going to come and share from God's Word this morning. This past year, when I went to India,
the last time we went, I came up to Josh. I don't know Josh, about a month before we went,
two months before we went, and I was like, hey man, one of the things we're going to be doing is doing
like a small group training, those type things, and they want a message kind of at the end of that.
And so, would you like to do that? And like, the look on his face was, I think, more like,
am I asking for permission? Are you telling me? And so, Josh was like, well, sure, absolutely.
And then Josh went there and did a phenomenal job of teaching the people in India God's Word.
And so, as we came back and talking through, this is a wonderful opportunity for Josh to use his gifts
and talents in a way and to develop those and grow those. And I will tell you, kind of watching Josh
this week and the weeks leading up to this, man, the faithfulness that he has poured into studying
God's Word and wrestling with what it says and really taking to heart the message that God has for him
so that he can come and share with you guys what the truth of God's Word is. So, I will read the Bible
verse and pray here in just a moment, but I want y'all to join me in giving him the warmest, most exciting
welcome that y'all have in you this morning, all right? So, let's welcome Josh.
And I'll just say, man, the front row is never this full for me, right? But man, for you, they've got it filled up.
They've got it filled up. So, let's read Romans 8, 28, and then I will pray. God's Word says,
and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called
according to his purpose. Let's pray. God, I thank you so much for the beauty, the fullness, the completeness
of your Word. God, I thank you that we can come in here and we can gather together, Lord, with confidence.
This world is inconsistent.
This world is chaotic.
But God, we can come with the confidence
of the truth of your Word.
God, we lift up our brother Josh to you.
God, we thank you for all that he is in Christ.
We thank you for his dedication. We thank you for his faithfulness.
We thank you for his diligence in your Word.
And God, we know, Lord, we can't wait to see how you use him this morning.
So, God, in every word that he says, in every truth that we hear, God, may you be glorified.
And we thank you.
We thank you that men and women desire your Word, desire to learn your Word,
to know your Word, God, so that they can take the truth of your Word and pass it on to others.
And God, we thank you for that.
We ask all these things in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
So, as Pastor Bo alluded, my name is Josh Nix.
I work on staff here at Willow Ridge and have, for about the last year and a half,
in a full-time role for starting in January.
So, my role here at the church is facilities and operations.
And I also lead and direct our young adult group.
And to be honest, since they gave me a mic and they haven't muted me yet,
I don't feel like I can pass up this opportunity to plug our group.
So, a young adult group consists of 18 to 24-year-old young men and women here in our church.
We meet once a week on Sunday mornings in room 105, which is, like, right through that wall right there.
About once a month, we gather for meals at my house.
And we just, you know, we eat food, which I found that they always show up for, you know, a free meal.
And we just, we get into the Word, we spend time together, we fellowship, we play games.
It's just an opportunity for them to roast me and me just kind of take it.
And it also works on my heart.
So, if you are a parent of someone that's 18 to 24, or if you just know someone that needs a group to connect with,
I'd encourage you to send them our way.
We started out earlier this year, or really, I guess, at the end of last year.
And, you know, it's been fun just to watch God work and move and grow our group.
I guess two years ago, Pastor Bo, Pastor Dave, Joel Van Ham, they called me up and they said,
Hey, man, we want to take you to lunch.
For those of you in the room that have ever been invited to lunch by Pastor Dave or Pastor Bo,
you know there's always something coming, right?
So, we sat down and they said, Hey, we've noticed an area of need in our church for 18 to 24-year-olds.
And we've got a children's ministry that's pouring into the life of our kids.
We've got volunteers that are pouring into the life of our kids.
We've got a youth group that's growing.
We've got adult ministries where we've got discipleship, we've got retreats, mission trips.
We do all these things for all these different areas of our church.
But we've noticed that we just, we don't have anything for our young adults.
And against my better personal judgment, I prayed about it.
I felt like God was laying it on my heart.
And so, I said I would do it.
And through all of my inadequacies and through all of my fears and doubts, you know,
feeling called, knowing there was a need.
It's just been great to watch God work and move in them and through our group.
And I kind of joke with them, well, not joke, I kind of tell them seriously, like, I lead
our group, and it's fun to watch growth in them.
But it's the blessing piece comes from when God just pours into me through them.
And so, yeah, that basically, that's the story of our young adult group.
That's my shameless plug.
I'll move on to a little bit more about me.
So, my wife, Kim, and I have been married for 17 years.
For 12 of those years, we've called Willow Ridge Church our home.
We've got three kids, Haley, the tall one, Samantha, the one that jumps off playgrounds,
and Olivia, who wears her Croc shoes on the wrong feet on purpose.
So, if you don't know them by name, you've seen them, I promise you.
But however, prior to meeting my wife, prior to getting married, I actually grew up at Willow Ridge
Church.
When I was younger, we visited Agape Baptist Church on Platte Springs Road, and I grew up
going to VBS and kids camp, and Miss Jackie was my Sunday school teacher, Miss Gail.
And growing up in the church, in a Baptist church, in the South, you learned some things,
right?
You learned some things like, it's never a bad time for an impromptu potluck dinner in
the fellowship hall, right?
As you get into your teen years, you join the youth group, you learn that a lock-in, even
if it sounds a lot like prison, it's not.
It's actually fun.
Then you get into your adult years, and you're asked to volunteer for one, and then you realize
it actually is a lot like prison.
Last but not least, and I'm praying that Beau doesn't come take over the stage after I
say this one, you learn how important it is for your pastor to finish on time on a Sunday
morning, right?
Yeah, you guys know where I'm going with this, we've all been there, you get out late, all
the churches on Highway 1 beat you to San Jose's, you pull in the parking lot, you got to park
back there by the soccer field, which is like a mile from the front door, you park, you get
out, you already know, but you walk in, the lobby's full, you wait on a table, and yeah,
so the importance of finishing on time is heavy on my heart, so I'll do my best.
So, I'm sorry, Pastor Beau, we still love you, but I think one of, growing up in a Baptist
church in South Carolina, one of my favorite things was kind of the sayings, right?
Like the things that you would hear people say.
There's too many to count, there's too many to say, there's some I probably shouldn't repeat,
so I won't, but one in particular was always cool, and I loved it, and so I'm going to try
to do it with you guys this morning, I'm hoping for some crowd participation, because if it
doesn't happen, I'm going to look really dumb.
So, for those of you who know it, do it along with me, but God is good all the time.
Okay, thank you.
That's a tremendous weight off my chest.
I don't know why I didn't think y'all wouldn't do it, but I'm really glad you did.
However, Brent Hawkins didn't do it, so we're going to do it one more time, or we're going
to do it for the next 35 minutes until you decide to participate.
So, one more time, and also, too, for those who didn't know it prior to this, you get an
opportunity now to fully participate, right?
So, God is good all the time.
Okay, good job.
Give yourself a hand.
Yeah, yeah, there it is.
I'm not sure if you guys have felt this way, but something I've noticed in myself over the
last few weeks, you know, kind of coming into this series, I mean, other than the fact that
Bo asked me to preach, and that's terrifying, something I've learned about myself is no matter
how comfortable or familiar I felt with a verse that we're talking about that week, like God
has just had something for me each and every week.
Like, I've just felt convicted of a way I've used it, or I've learned something new, and it's
just, you know, it's been good to just see how God's working and moving through that.
Two weeks ago, the young adult group is on its way back from a mission trip to New York.
We did park ministry in Queens.
Sunday is our travel day back, so we go through TSA.
Nobody tried to get a gallon bottle of hair conditioner through TSA, so we actually got
through it okay.
We're sitting, waiting to board our plane, and it's about 1045 on a Sunday, and the thought
occurred to me.
I was like, man, I was like, you know, I hate we can't be at church.
Like, I feel like we're missing out, but I've got to be honest.
There was a part of me that was kind of glad I didn't have to feel convicted, you know what
I mean?
Like, by whatever Bo was preaching on.
And so we fly back home, get back to the house, prepare for the week with kids' lunches
and all the things.
Come in.
Come into my office the next morning, open up my laptop.
There's an email from Pastor Dave.
I'm like, okay, let's see what this is about.
Open it up.
And it's the questions for the discussion time at 9 a.m. for this week.
And he said, hey, just a reminder, you're leading the discussion time.
Here's the link for the YouTube video.
Please watch it and prepare yourself for the questions.
So thank you for the accountability, Pastor Dave, that I wasn't expecting.
But no, I joke, but in all seriousness, it's been a lot of fun to see God work and move through
this series for me in my personal life.
And something I want to reiterate is that Pastor Bo said early on in this series, he said, you
know, we're going through this together.
And what that speaks to is each of us have encountered a verse that we've used the wrong
way, either in a conversation or we've used the wrong way in our personal life and how we
convince ourselves of something.
And I think like it made me feel better in preparation to understand that like, I'm not
alone in this.
So as I prayed over this verse and truly felt God directly working in me, it really kind of
gave me peace.
So if you haven't already done it, turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 8.
We're going to be in verse 28 and we'll cover 28, 29, and 30.
Verse 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.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined, he also called.
And those whom he called, he also justified.
And those whom he justified, he also glorified.
Would you pray with me?
God, I thank you for this morning.
I thank you for the opportunity to come on this stage and share your word.
And God, I pray that over the next however many minutes it takes me to get through this
stuff, God, I pray that your word would be spoken.
I pray that you would calm my nerves.
And God, I just pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to hear what you have
for us this morning.
In your name, I pray.
Amen.
So, as believers, there are a few common ways that we misunderstand, misapply, or misinterpret
the truth of Romans 8, 28.
I think the first way, the first and maybe one of the more common ways that we misuse this
verse is we take a verse like this and we apply it as a truth for non-believers.
You know, Paul in this verse does not say, for everyone, all things work together for the
good.
Paul says, for those who love the Lord, all things work together for the good.
When we read a verse like this, we, you know, it's one of those that like, I can kind of
see like big bold letters on the front of somebody's t-shirt, right?
Like, all things.
And then underneath it, and maybe cursive or some kind of fancy writing that I can't think
of the name of the font right now, it says like, work together for, and then big bold
letters underneath it, good, right?
We can see it in a local Christian bookstore, or maybe in like one of those Instagram shops
where you're not sure if they're just trying to steal your credit card information, or if
they're actually going to send you a t-shirt or not.
We've seen it on social media, like 10,000 likes.
I mean, how encouraging is it to think that all things work together for the good for everyone?
It's pretty encouraging.
And we can leave it at that, at that simplified, easy to digest wording.
That's not what the verse says.
Paul says, for those who love God, all things.
And if that wasn't enough, you know, Paul finished the verse with, for those who are called according
to his purpose.
I was listening to a John Piper breakdown a couple of weeks ago on Romans 8, 28, and he
stated something that I thought was cool.
He stated that in Paul's writings, and all of Paul's writings, he made mention of loving
God three times.
Romans 8, 28, obviously our verse, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and then he also mentions it again
later in 1 Corinthians.
So I want to share those other verses with you as well.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, Paul writes, what no eye has seen, nor ear
heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.
You see, to be a believer is to love the Lord.
You know, and this verse was written and meant as a promise to those who love God and are
known by God.
What does it mean to be known by God?
In the book of Galatians, Paul writes, but now that you have come to know God, or rather
to be known by God.
You see, loving God and being in relationship with him makes us known by him.
The other time Paul writes of loving God is in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, in verse 3, he
writes, but if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
I feel like in this verse, Paul uses a couple of descriptions that, I mean, are right there,
they're in the verse, so it's kind of obvious, and I've already shared them, but I want to
dive into like those descriptions of like who this verse applies to.
The first part of the verse says, for those who love God.
This means people who have made a commitment to him, to live for him.
Commitment meaning to serve in recognition and appreciation of who he is.
Who he is as a faithful, loving, generous father.
John 14, verse 21, it says, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.
And he who loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Loving God for who he is in himself requires commitment, requires a commitment to endure difficulty and suffering.
To endure difficulty through those hard, difficult circumstances.
It's trusting that when he makes a promise, like all things, he's faithful to keep it.
The second way that Paul describes this verse and who it applies to, he says,
those who have been called according to his purpose.
Meaning those who have been brought into relationship with him.
Christians.
Believers.
Romans 8.30, it says,
I think if we're not careful as Christians, we run the risk of taking a verse like this and we can comfort a non-believer.
And in that, we can mislead them.
I mean, it doesn't mean that good circumstances can't happen in their life, right?
Like good circumstances happen all the time.
But to someone who doesn't know where the good is coming from,
those circumstances can further harden and further delude their heart.
Timothy Keller wrote,
But when an unbelieving heart experiences a string of success and pleasures,
it only reinforces the illusion and can make the worst sins in the human heart grow and take over.
Sins like pride.
Sins like overconfidence.
Self-centeredness.
Etc.
As we dig deeper into this verse,
we can establish that if, like Paul says,
all of life's circumstances are for the good of those who love him
and are called to his purpose,
then there's also the strong implication,
and honestly, we can establish that all of life's circumstances
do not work for the good of those who do not love him.
The promise of Romans 8.28 is not a promise
that really applies to all things being good.
It is a promise.
But the promise of 8.28 is referring to the goodness of God
who has a sovereign plan to use all of those things
for the good of those who love him.
Second way that we misuse and misunderstand this verse is
we take a verse like this and we say,
well, God uses some things for our good.
Paul does not say some things work together for the good.
Paul says all things.
Romans chapter 11, verse 36,
he writes,
for from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever.
Amen.
And then in Ephesians chapter 1,
verse 11 and 12,
in him we have obtained an inheritance,
having predestined according,
I'm sorry,
having been predestined according to the purpose
of him who works all things
according to the counsel of his will.
So that we who were the first to hope in Christ
might be to the praise of his glory.
Last year,
we as a church,
we spent the entire year in the book of Genesis.
And Pastor Bo spent several weeks
on the story of Joseph.
And so what Pastor Bo spent
about two or three weeks on,
I'm going to try to recap in about 10 minutes.
So needless to say,
I'm going to leave some things out.
But I'd encourage you to go back
and read on your own
in the fullness of this story.
Because it is hope.
Because it does speak to how God works.
So what do we know about Joseph?
Well, we know Joseph was one of 12 sons, right?
We know his father favored him
above his brothers.
And we know that his brothers
despised him for it.
We know that Joseph has a dream.
Joseph probably didn't read the room very well,
shares that dream with his brothers
who already despise him.
And they despise him even more because of it.
He says,
I'm going to be here.
You guys are going to be here, right?
So the father sends him
to check on his brothers one day
who are out pasturing the flock.
The brothers see him
off in the distance,
conspire to kill him.
But one of the brothers intercedes.
Reuben says,
don't kill him,
let's throw him into a pit.
So we see this picture of,
it says the brothers sit down to eat.
And it's kind of this picture
of like them sitting here eating
and Joseph's down in the pit.
And the brothers off in the distance,
they see a caravan of Ishmaelites.
So now they see dollar signs.
Hey, we should sell him.
At this point in the story,
Joseph has been sold
by the Midianite traders
to Potiphar in Egypt.
Potiphar is an officer of Pharaoh.
We get to chapter 39,
verse 2 in the book of Genesis.
It says,
the Lord was with Joseph
and he became a successful man.
So we see this picture
of Joseph being faithful to the Lord,
encountering some hardship,
like your brothers selling you
into captivity kind of hardship.
But we also see God's hand just working.
We see God's hand moving
in the fact that his brothers
didn't just kill him.
So Joseph's in Potiphar's house.
He finds favor in Potiphar's eyes.
It tells us that he's made overseer
of the entire house.
And again,
we see God blessing Joseph
and blessing this Egyptian's house
for Joseph's sake.
We continue on in the story
and we see that Potiphar's wife
desires Joseph.
He refuses her multiple times.
And then eventually,
after his last refusal,
he runs out of the house to get away,
leaving his cloak behind.
She accuses him of assault.
Potiphar has Joseph thrown into prison.
Chapter 39, verse 21.
But the Lord was with Joseph
and showed him steadfast love
and gave him favor
in the sight of the keeper
of the prison.
You see, at this moment,
we don't see God remove Joseph
from prison.
We don't see God remove Joseph
from the difficulty.
We don't see him just remove
all of his suffering.
Continue on in chapter 40.
It says,
Pharaoh is angry with his cupbearer
and his chief baker.
He throws them into prison.
And it says,
the captain of the guard
appointed Joseph to be with him.
So here's this moment
where the captain of the guard
appoints Joseph
to be with the cupbearer
and the baker.
Probably seems insignificant, right?
Like to Joseph,
it probably just seems like,
okay, well, I'm put here.
I'll do this.
This is my job.
So again, though,
we see God working
and moving
through these circumstances.
They have two dreams.
Each one of them has a dream.
Joseph interprets their dreams.
For one guy,
it works out well.
The other guy,
not so much.
Chapter 40, verse 14.
Joseph's talking to the cupbearer
and he says,
only remember me
when it is well with you.
And please do me the kindness
to mention me to Pharaoh.
And so get me out of this house.
The only problem is
the cupbearer doesn't remember him.
Forgets about him.
Two years later,
two long,
imprisoned years later,
Pharaoh has a dream
or has two dreams.
Pharaoh brings in
all the wise men
and magicians in Egypt,
in the region,
and tells them of his dreams.
No one can interpret them.
It was then
that the cupbearer
remembered Joseph.
Joseph interprets
Pharaoh's dreams
and then in chapter 41,
verse 39,
Pharaoh says to Joseph,
since God has shown you
all this,
there is none
so discerning
and wise as you are.
Verse 40.
You shall be over my house
and all my people
shall order themselves
as you command.
As we continue on
in this chapter,
as Joseph interpreted,
Egypt has seven plentiful years
and the earth
produced abundantly.
And during those seven years,
Joseph's guidance
and under his leadership,
they stored grain
throughout all the cities
of Egypt.
So that when the seven years
of abundance ended
and the seven years
of famine began,
just as Joseph interpreted.
And when the people
of Egypt cried out
for bread,
Pharaoh's response was
in chapter 41,
verse 55,
go to Joseph.
What he says to you,
do.
God provided.
God is working.
God is moving.
As we continue reading on,
we find that it's not just
the people of Egypt
that come to Joseph for grain.
We find that people
from all over the region
are impacted by this famine.
It's severe.
It's harsh.
They need bread.
They need grain.
Chapter 42.
20 years later,
Joseph's brothers
are brought back
into the story.
You see,
Joseph's family
was impacted
by the famine as well.
And over the next
couple of chapters,
the brothers are sent
to Egypt by their father.
They're going to starve.
And what we see
over the next few chapters
is this opportunity
for Joseph
to supply
for his family.
We see Joseph
conceal his identity
so his brothers
don't know it's him,
but he knows it's them.
He sends the brothers
back with grain
and then they run out
and then they come back
for more.
And it's just,
there's a lot there.
So again,
I encourage you,
go back and read it
on your own this week.
But what we see
in this is Joseph
providing for his family
during the famine.
God using Joseph.
God is good
all the time.
As Christians,
we know God is good.
We know him
to be good.
but what does that mean?
I'm reading this book
and was reading it
in preparation
for this series
and this sermon.
But Eric Bargerhoff
writes
in reference
to God's goodness,
he says,
to say that God is good
is to say that
within the heart of God
he is morally
excellent and kind.
His heart is true.
His love is pure
and his kindness
is seen
in the goodness
and mercy
that he gives
in abundance.
So we've covered
some common misuses
and misunderstandings
of Romans 8.28
but I'd like to spend
what's left
of our time
just talking about
what this verse
means to the believers.
What this verse
means
and the hope
that it brings
to those who love him
and are called
to his purpose.
Number one,
God's promises
stand
despite my circumstances.
Before the story
of Joseph,
a promise
had been made
to Abraham
that God
would make
many nations
of him
and that promise
was put
into peril
by the famine
that God
called upon
the region
but God
made a way.
Psalm 105
verses 16
and 17
this is David
writing about
the story
of Joseph
and the famine
in verse 16
he says,
when he summoned
a famine
on the land
and broke
all supply
of bread
he had sent
a man
ahead of them
Joseph
who was sold
as a slave.
God was working
to ensure
that his promise
was kept.
In Romans 8
28
Paul writes
all things
work together
for the good.
And the good
that Paul
is talking about
if we relate it
to the story
of Joseph
is not
Joseph's health.
It's not
his comfort.
Not even
his freedom.
The good
that Paul
is talking
about
is his heart.
And as we
apply Paul's
writing
to our lives
the good
is not
in our health.
It's not
in our wealth.
It's not
the health
of our kids.
It's not
the American
dream.
Romans 8
29
through 30
for those
whom he
foreknew
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image
of his
son
in order
that he
might be
the firstborn
among many
brothers.
In those
whom he
predestined
he also
called.
In those
whom he
called
he also
justified.
In those
whom he
justified
he also
glorified.
the good
that Paul
is referring
to is
our
sanctification.
Our
character.
Our
holiness.
He's
molding
and changing
you
to be
more like
Christ.
So in
this story
eventually
Joseph
reveals
who he
is
to his
brothers.
There's
weeping.
There's
embracing.
There's
fear.
But there's
also
reconciliation.
And as
we read
through the
story of
Joseph I
think it's
easy for
us to
get wrapped
up in
the famine.
Right?
Like we
can understand
famine.
We can
understand
difficulty.
I can
relate to
the difficulty
in my
life.
I can
relate to
hard
circumstances.
I think
we can
even process
how 20
years
of
suffering
and
difficulty
can be
for
Joseph's
ultimate
good
and how
he's
able to
save
his
family
and
provide
for
his
family.
But if
we aren't
careful we
can miss
the point
of what
God truly
has in
the story
for us.
And it's
how God
took a
faithful
servant
and molded
him to
be more
like
Christ
and how
God
continued
to
work
through
what
we
see
as
chaos
and
what
he
sees
as
our
good.
In
Genesis
chapter
50
verse
15
Joseph's
father
Jacob
had just
passed
away
and his
brothers
responded
he said
when
Joseph's
brothers
saw
that
their
father
was
dead
they
said
it
may
be
that
Joseph
will
hate
us
and
pay
us
back
for
all
the
evil
that
we
did
to
him.
Five
verses
later
we see
Joseph's
response.
Verse
20
As
for you
you
meant
evil
against
me
but
God
meant
it
for
good.
To
bring
it
about
that
many
people
should
be
kept
alive
as
they
are
today.
Notice
in that
that
Joseph
doesn't
say
but
God
used
it
for
good.
See
used
it
implies
a
reaction.
Used
it
implies
that
he's
caught
off
guard
by
it.
Joseph
said
God
meant
it
for
good.
He
ordained
it.
He
planned
it.
had
purpose
in
it
from
the
very
start.
And
what
God
shows
us
that
he
has
done
through
the
story
of
Joseph
is
not
just
a
plan
to
save
his
people
but
it's
a
plan
for
us.
God
has
always
loved
you.
God
has
plans
for
you.
Those
plans
to use
all
things.
Not
in
isolation
of one
another.
But
all
things
for
our
good.
Second
and last
point
that I
want to
make
about
the
hope
that
this
verse
brings
and
then
I'll
close.
Got to
get you
guys
to San
Jose's.
Nothing
is
wasted.
Romans
8
18
For
I
consider
that
the
sufferings
of
this
present
time
are
not
worth
comparing
with
the
glory
that
is
to
be
revealed
to
us.
Psalm
34
18
The
Lord
is
near
to
the
broken
hearted
and
saves
the
crushed
in
spirit.
In
my
life
I've
often
seen
the
good
as
something
God
gives
me.
Blessings
to be
thankful
for.
But
the
bad
hard
stuff.
The
promotion
I
deserved
but
didn't
get.
The
car
breaking
down.
The
loss
of a
loved
one.
Difficulty
in my
marriage
or my
other
relationships.
A
cancer
diagnosis.
At my
worst I've
seen
circumstances
like this
as crippling.
I've
allowed
doubt
to creep
in.
Maybe
not to
the
point
where I
lose
trust
that
God
is
good
but
the
doubt
that
creeps
in
that
he
could
use
it
for
my
good.
And
to be
honest
at my
best
while I've
seen
these
circumstances
I've
seen
these
things
as
something
he
steps
in
to
fix.
Something
he
reacts
to.
Something
he
rescues
me
from.
This is
probably
the most
common
way that
I misuse
this verse
by the
way.
Just to
be
transparent.
But I'm
learning in
this that
God is
just as
present and
purposeful in
the lows as
he is the
highs.
He's not
just the
one that
pulls me
out.
He's the
one who
walks with
me through
it.
Because
God
with God
triumphs and
tribulations
work together.
He doesn't
just allow
it.
He plans
it.
He has
purpose for
it.
He doesn't
just fix
what's
broken.
He molds
us with
it.
All
things
working
together
for my
good.
Paul
throughout
Romans 8
is painting
a picture
of how
God
is weaving
the great
triumphs
and terrible
tragedies
all together
for his
sovereign
purpose.
And I'll
close with
this.
In reference
to Psalm
105 where
David's speaking
of Joseph
and the
famine,
Charles Spurgeon
had a quote
that I thought
was kind of
cool and so
I figured
I'd read it
out loud.
He said,
the iron
fetters
were preparing
him to wear
chains of
gold and
making his
feet ready
to stand
on high
places.
It is
even so
with all
the Lord's
afflicted
ones that
they too
shall one
day step
from their
prisons to
their
thrones.
So I'll
ask you
this morning
if you're
here
and you
don't have
a relationship
with the
Lord
or if
you're just
not 100%
sure that
the hope
of Romans
8.28
applies to
you,
I'd encourage
you to speak
to someone
about salvation.
You know,
the Bible
says for
those who
call upon
the name
of the
Lord
they'll
be
saved.
Billy Graham
was once
speaking to
a crowd
in Yankee
Stadium
and kind
of during
his altar
call he
said,
I tell
you,
before you
leave this
great stadium
you can
find an
answer to
the dilemma
and mysteries
of life
if you
will come
and surrender
yourself
without
reservation
to
Jesus.
If you
don't have
a relationship
with the
Lord this
morning,
my prayer
is that
you would
come
without
reservation.
And if
you're here
and you
are a
believer
but maybe
you're just
going through
some stuff.
Some
circumstances
and some
difficulties
that just
can't make
sense of
too hard.
I pray
that you
would just
lean into
the promise
that it's
all things
working
together
for your
good.
But also
trust that
you're not
alone.
You have
a church
family that
loves you
and wants
to connect
with you.
Find a
prayer
encourager
here in a
few minutes.
Find a
prayer
encourager.
Find
Pastor
Bo.
Find
me.
Find
anyone.
If God
is working
in your
heart this
morning,
don't leave
this place
without a
conversation.
Would you
pray with
me?
God,
I thank
you for
this morning
and I
thank you
that I get
to be a
part of
just a
church
family that
loves me
and pours
into me
and loves
and pours
into my
kids.
God, I
thank you
for this
promise.
I thank you
for the
truth that
you are
working all
things, all
circumstances
for my
good.
God, speak
to our
hearts.
Bring us
into conversation
with you this
morning, Lord.
In your name
I pray.
Amen.
That's it
for this
week's
message.
Be sure
to check
back next
week for
a new
episode and
in the
meantime,
you can
visit us
online at
willowridgechurch.org
or by
searching for
Willow Ridge
Church on
Facebook,
Instagram,
and YouTube.
Thanks again
for listening.
Thank you.