Lesson 36b
Romans 8:26-28 · Courtney Hemenway · Jul 21, 2019
Romans (2018-21), No. 74
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261915401192

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All righty, we are in lesson 36 of the Romans class and we start in question 4. Do all things work together? Well, let me just kind of blow through the verses, there's not too many of them. The verses we're going through are 27 through 28, but I included 26 just for context. So Romans 8, 26 through 28.

In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose.

And really, we're going to go over mostly 28 today. So, beginning in question four, we again touched on this to begin with last week. Do all things work together because they just work out that way for believers? Is it just because we're believers it works out? We started that. Just because it works out? Somebody? God has a purpose to grow us up. Okay. And everything works together toward that. So, does it say that it works out just because we're believers? What does it say? God causes it. God causes it. So, it's God causing this. So, for what purpose does God do this? Just cause again? What does the verse say? His purpose.

So, well, yeah. It's not good that he works them together for our good. You know, that's kind of an interesting thought. All things are not good. It can be trials that can grow us. Yeah. So even though we say for good, he uses a lot of different methods. And this is where I think I've been beating myself and trying to understand this is the two things, sovereignty of God and the eternal love, which we're going to see in the next a few months, probably, when we get to the end of Romans 8, the eternal love, those two things, the sovereignty of God, and that's, he uses all things, trials and blessings. And so, he uses all those things for good. And sometimes in the midst of a trial, are you thinking, man, this is good? You know, a lot of times we don't, but I think the knowledge of this gives us that peace that surpasses all understanding. that if we understand in the midst of the trial, he's in control of it. Then I think we have the peace that even though it's a trial, it's tough. We have we know that he's using this.

It's all for our good. And what is the good? Well, we'll get to that a little bit for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So it's for good that he does this. So again, we'll get into a little bit what that means. Yeah, Mike. So what's a good definition of good? We'll get to that. How about God? We'll get to that. Only God is good, right? We'll get to what is good. So you're getting ahead. Number six. Take the good and the bad.

God is like reading a tapestry. God harmonizes everything together. He brings everything together because His knowledge is infinite. He knows us from before we were ever created, ever. Like 139 Psalms. Because He's infinite in knowledge, He just can do that. And it's such assurance to us that He can We're going to get a little bit more into that, but that's a great thing.

It's like a tapestry. I think that's a great thing. He's using all these things to weave a tapestry. And what's the end result of that tapestry? What is the end result of that tapestry? Conform to the image of Christ. The end of the tapestry is Christ, the image of Christ. That's what he's weaving. You know, he's using all these things to conform us to the image of Christ. I was just going to say, that's number six. Get a little ahead, we're getting there. So the purpose is, and from Weiss, he has this.

Robertson says the words are found in two prominent manuscripts, A and B, which read, God works all things together for good. He said that this is the idea. Anyhow, it is God who makes all things work together in our lives for good, ultimate good. Paul accepts full human free agency, but behind it all and through it all runs God's sovereignty as here and on its gracious side. I think that's good. Still, free agency or free our will to reject and everything. But behind it all is God's sovereignty.

And his purpose is to conform us to the image of Christ. So he uses all these things, even though we may fight, struggle, do everything to fight it and not do it. God's always trying to conform us to the image of Christ through trials and blessings and everything else.

He's doing that. And again, we're tied into the eternal love. He loves us with a love that is eternal. So in those trials and in those conforming us, it's not beating us with a stick and the old slave master where he's just beating the slave. He is lovingly doing this to us.

And so that's, it's, I really like the, you know, Paul accepts full human free agency, but behind it all and through it all runs God's sovereignty. I think that's a great statement. And then Newell has this, and this is what I really, when I think about the sovereignty of God, he kind of puts it in good terms here. that all things work together for good. This involves that billion billion control of God's providence by the most infinitesimal things to bring them about for good to God's saints. When we reflect on the innumerable things about us, forces, seen and unseen, of the mineral, vegetable, and animal worlds, of man and enmity to God, of Satan and his principalities and powers in deadly array, in the uncertainty and even treachery of those near and dear to us, and even of professed Christians, and of our own selves, we cannot trust for a moment upon our unredeemed bodies, upon our general, complete helplessness, than to have God say, all things are working together for your good. revealed to us a divine providence that is absolutely limitless. The Book of Proverbs sets forth just such a God, for it describes the certain and good or bad of the various paths of man on earth, every minute detail ordered of God. So when you think about that, we still have the will to make choices, but God is at work in everything. In everything. The billion, billion control of everything. Vegetable, mineral, winds. We talked about rains and all that. Everything.

And when he brings a hurricane in and wipes out the Gulf Coast, Is he in control there? Is he bringing it for his purposes? Yeah. You know, when he works anything in your life, it's, you know, I do this a lot. I've put in a lot of miles lately driving, you know, to all these sites. And I think about, you know, all the things he's working on, minute by minute, second by second, instant by instant. He's working all around at all times. And to think about that, he's working on me like that.

What about you and you and you and you and you and you and you all at the same time? Put that one in your bonnet and think about that one. Even our greatest supercomputers can't do what you think about that. And the fact when I think about this, that he's doing all that, but he's relating all those together. They're not independent. You know, when he's working on me, he may be working on you, and you, and you, and six different things when we gather. And then the hundred people you deal with in the day, all those are interrelated because you're working on them, as me. Think about that.

You know, God is incredible. And, you know, he's doing all this. I think in Colossians, they say, and when we study Colossians about the he's in control of the smallest detail and the largest. So when you look, you know, I think before as a believer, I related on how I was up camping and look at the stars and I knew there was a God because to create all this universe, He's everywhere. He's created this entire universe. So he holds that all together. So that's on the macro scale. But check it out in the micro scale. Every cell in your body is being held together by him. Jack, every breath, every heartbeat is in his control.

I was just wondering if we could maybe take a few minutes to distinguish between God causing evil and just that concept, just so we're... Yeah, He doesn't cause it, He allows it. He allows it, as I brought it last week. Does He allow you to sin? Yeah. How does that fit in?

He doesn't cause you. He doesn't tempt you. As we see, he doesn't tempt you into you are tempted by taking your eyes off Christ and going to the temptation. And then in James, it goes through that process. But he doesn't tempt anybody to do evil, but he allows it. And the trials, you know, think about camp. A lot of times I can't. Oh, don't let Satan attack us and all this kind of stuff. How far does Satan go? As far as God lets him. Think of Job. What do you do to Job? Let him sift him. He didn't stop him, but he allowed him to go as far as he needed to, to show Job's heart. He does that in our lives.

And as we say, if Satan's on your case today, That's an interesting day because he's not omnipresent. It's more of the sin in your flesh that is leading you astray. And you take your eyes off Christ and you get tempted in the James process of that. But that's a good point.

God doesn't cause us. to sin. He allows us. And that's a good distinction between causing and allowing. He's not bringing the hurricane or causing the hurricane, but he is using it for good. It helps us understand. There's a background process that The sovereign has... Well, see, I think he's in control of that. He's allowing it. He's allowing it. I mean, the sun up, sun down. We have all that. He controls the sun. He controls everything.

He allows it, but we have to look at his purposes. We look at his important things that happen in that. But we don't see the mere... And that's why I tried to get into the fact that he's working on you and you and you and you and me and all the same time. Well, in a hurricane and all the people he's dealing with, he's dealing with every one of those people. in different ways, and it all could be related, and he's using that. We have to understand that billion-billion control, that all of those things. And he allows it, and, you know, and there are people who, in the midst of that, are seeking God.

You know, and you look, you're twitching, I see. No, it's just, I mean, we're all dealing with things that we have to recognize God about in our lives, and I think that that's not part, maybe not part of our prayer as often as it maybe should be based on these verses, is that What you're allowing is is is working for the good of us as believers and yeah that realization that he's not Causing me the problem himself. He is simply growing us up through that is a Just a distinction worth making because I we deal with a lot of you know younger believers that are like Why is God doing this in my life right now and that concept? Can be cleared up through part of this verse this verse and others I think this one in particular does it? Because I go to the all things. The all things. It's not partially. It's not sort of, kind of. It's all things. He uses all things.

And that's where, you know, to any young believer or to any believer, that's trials and blessings. And so even though you go through a trial, you know, I can go back in my life and see things that, you know, significant trials, but on the backside of it, I understand why he did it. Sometimes you get that, right? Yeah, sometimes you get it. It may take 20 years to figure that out, but a lot of times I don't understand it at the time.

I have a piece maybe trying to understand why he's taking me through this, but usually on the backside of it somewhere, I use that because in the Corinthians 1, I can comfort somebody because I've been through the comfort that God got me through that. He may use it for that purpose. He may use it just to conform me to the image that, hey, I need to be dependent upon God. I need to be dependent upon the Spirit in me, not myself.

So, I mean, yeah. Just to think about that, a believer having nothing but chaos to look at. This is all chaos. I'm purposeless. I mean, this is a big piece first. Oh, as I said to you again, you know, this is huge. And this is huge for the believer. And contrary to the unbeliever, they have no clue. I mean, what is their hope when they go through a trial? What is their hope? What is their anchor? What is their? outlook other than chance or, you know, there isn't anything for them.

For a believer though, these are, that's what I did in my prayer, it's the foundational six, seven, and eight, how crucial they are to us. as believers, and especially we've been spending a lot of time in Romans 8 here, but these are really key, key, key verses for us.

And then Paul builds upon these in all the rest of the epistles. And so I think this is very important, especially this one. Oh, I'll get to some of the things. Yeah. You know, if God's going to create a creature like human beings and give them free will, then he has to allow in that process for, if you have a free will, then he has to allow for the fact that you will choose against him, and there are consequences to choosing against him, which is evil and the fall of the creation.

But he still, underneath all of that, he controls even all of that, because it was in his design to do it. I find interesting that a lot of what this verse is about is is persuading the believer's will to trust him about circumstances, and that if they will just do that, because the first word, well, it'll be the next question. The thing is, is that he's always working things to get us to agree with him. And everything about him is goodness. And the fact that he would even go through this process with us, It's amazing.

Well, you know just if you understand this verse What can't you go through? You know scripture gives us a good glimpse of this concept. I'm thinking in the Old Testament God's very expressive. This is very expressive about it with Pharaoh Yeah, and so there's there's the hurricane in the Jews life that they can't can't And as they live through that, fully understand or appreciate God's sovereign purpose through evil people is bringing about his perfect will and conditioning those Jews to their belief.

Yeah, he's in control of all that. And then at the end of it, What is it, you know? That's why I say you go through it, and you may not understand at the time, but if you understand these verses, this verse in particular, all things, and the other is the search, the comfort I have after studying this, he's searching the mind, or my heart, not for what I need, I mean, what I'm thinking.

I want a million dollars and a Ferrari. That's what I think is a great deal. He's searching the mind of the spirit. And the Spirit is the one who is conforming us to the image of Christ. That's the exciting part about these verses, I think, is that it's not about, you know, Lord, I need a Ferrari. Lord, I need a nice house. I need a comfortable life. I need yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. He's searching the mind of the Spirit. And it's not for, you know, to give us everything we ask for. It's to conform us to the image of Christ. And he's using all things.

It's just these verses are so, so foundational to our life in Christ and our identification with him in six, you know, trying to rely upon self and seven. And now eight is just incredible. blessings because of what has transpired in six and before. So yeah, it's just, like I said, these are just so foundations. The more I study it, the more I just think how, if we, it's kind of like, I think last week, you know, with Lewis Burry Chaffer's 33 things, if you just get one or two of those and that spirit works on you about just really believing those, it changes your life. I think if you understand these verses, they're life-changing. How you approach life, you know, the ups and downs and the all-arounds are a lot smoother now because you know God's using all these things for His good. It's great. All right.

Also, the purpose is that it's expressed to in Ephesians 1 11 in him. We've also obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to his purpose for all things after the counsel of his will. So, again, He works all things after the counsel of His will. So, again, we see the sovereignty of God in these verses, and soon, you know, in 8, 32, 33, we're going to see about His eternal love for us.

So, I just think when you know those two things, it gets you through anything in life. Anything. Because you know God's in control, and He loves you. So, okay, question five, how do we know all of verse 28 is true? And it says, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, just to those who are called according to his purpose. So how do we know verse 28 is true? Just because why God said it. What does the verse say?

We know. We know. He's asking, how do we know? Yeah, how do we know? Scripture is true. It's all true. Considering the many ministries of the Holy Spirit, could you say that he provides that certainty to us? He's the one, I think, yes, that gives, as they say many times, convicts and convinces us of these truths. As I was just saying about if you really understand some of these, if you really understand and go with this, it's the Spirit that's convincing you of this, that it's true. And we appropriate it by faith. By faith. Everything is by faith. Everything. And once we do that by faith, we believe. heart and head knowledge, basically, what is true. And it's the Holy Spirit working on us on that to do that.

It seems to me that the words we know are an assumption by Paul to... it's assumed that it's true. Newell says the words we know are used about 30 times as an expression of common knowledge of the saints of God as such in the Epistles. Let me read my notes. From Newell, the words we know are about... That's exactly, yeah. No, that's fine. But yeah, it's just, it's an assumed truth that Paul knows that everybody agrees with him. And he's used it 30 times, about we know, we know, we know, we know.

So, and then from Wiest, The text reads, and we know with, I like his translation, and we know with an absolute knowledge that all things are constantly working together, resulting in good for those who are loving God, for those who are called ones according to his purpose.

So an offer comes in this further description. The apostle designates the believers as not merely loving God, but being loved, being beloved by God. The divine side of their security from harm is brought out as combining with an insuring and insuring with the other. So the believing and the knowledge is the key.

So, we are sure that all things work for their good, and not only because they love Him who works all things, but also because He who works all things hath loved and chosen them, and carried them through their successive steps of their spiritual life.

So think about that. Not only do we love Him, what's the more important thing? He loves us! Hi, how about that? Just think about this again. Think about that billion-billion control. He's working on every one of us, and everything, and everything, and all the universe.

And he still loves us. All that he's doing, he still loves you, individually. And he's got a purpose, and he's got the spirit in you, working individually on you. That's how much love he has. Individually, the Holy Spirit indwelling knows exactly what he's doing in each and every one of you. Even in the billion-billion control of everything, he still loves you. He's still each and every one of you.

That's incredible. So anyway. So if you take that fundamental premise, I mean, the fundamental premise is God loves you. How could not everything work together for good? Exactly. That's the simple. It's internally consistent. It's externally consistent. And it makes sense from a childlike faith perspective as well. You just trust dad. Yeah. Yeah. And dad loves you.

I think the other, which we're going to see in the latter, that ties it all together, not only that we loved, is in the last verses, 8, 32, 33, and that. Can we ever be separated from His love? And it goes through a lottery list of everything. If He loves us with an eternal love, what's wrong with anything we go through with?

That's right. It's all trickled down. If you know that, then what about that, that we have the peace that surpasses all understanding? We have rest. We have comfort. We have all those. Why? Because we know he's working all things for good, and he loves us. It's a logical consistency. He's the engineer. It does. It logically fits. And when you really think about that, and convicted, the Holy Spirit convicting you of that, It's amazing. You know, when you have a trial, it's not devastating. It hurts. Don't get me wrong. But it's not as devastating if you know He's in control.

But He's always drawing us to Himself. That's the purpose. That's why the love. He's always drawing us what to conform us to. He loves us and He wants us conformed. That's why this is kind of an interesting thing. I hadn't really done it, see, until we studied this, that He's searching our hearts for what? The mind of the Spirit. Not what I want, but the mind of the Spirit. And he goes after the mind of the Spirit because he is our intercessor. He knows our needs. He's the guy who knows what we... Do we trust our heart? Not for a moment. But that's the comforting part, is he's indwelling us. And that's where I say the individuality of that. Is it the same for all of us? No, and that's what's cool.

Again, to think the billion, the billion, the billion, the billion. Each one of us, the Holy Spirit is working individually in billions of people and he's in all things interwoven between all of us and everything and he still individually loves you and is working on you. I marvel at the What's the word I'm looking for?

The persistence and the thoroughness of God to persuade us and our wills that we would line up. Because that verse says, according to the will of God. His will is the perfect thing for each one of us. And He really works hard to persuade us that that's the best thing for us. Because in our mind we think, Like you described, the Ferrari and whatever else.

Yeah, that's not even close. Not even close, yeah. And so when we recognize a little bit of the intensity of what she loves us, we're more willing to say, well, OK, Lord. I know because you do love me that you're not going to send me down a blind alley. And when the no answer comes, it's not devastating. When the answer doesn't come like you want, I'm waiting, Lord.

Yes, that's it. Where's the handwriting on the wall over here? It should be there. It forces you to trust Him in all circumstances. But knowing that, and that's what, I guess I started with believers on this, that I need to, I'm going to do this, and that's the Lord's will, and then it doesn't happen. Did he not know you were going to do that and allow you to hit that wall or to whatever? Don't beat yourself up on things that don't go according to what you want. I've watched that happen the last few days.

People in the family would think that Jack should live forever. And that Jack has said out loud, I want to go home. I want to go home. In other words, he's saying, get out of the way. That's really what he's thinking, you know. Don't pray for me to be healed. I went off the bus here now. And it's back and forth and back and forth about whether this surgery would be appropriate for him or not. And I, you know, I'm sitting in that hospital room every day for the last four or five days and I'm thinking, you know, Jack just wants out of here. He wants to be home with his Lord. Nice family, I'll see you later, but I'm out of here.

Well, and then again, you know, if believing, you know, that's what should be. We're talking before class, you know, this is kind of something that Holly Hills that I don't think people truly understand sometimes. the two best days in a believer's life, one when you know the Lord and accept the Lord, the second day is being home with the Lord.

Those are the two best days of your life. Two best days. Jack's about ready to have the second best day of his life. And that day never ends. Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's a good thing. That never ends. So anyway, these are just incredible verses that foundationally, but when you really start thinking about what this means to you and your life. It's incredible. These are so foundational and life changing if you really understand these.

So anyway, question six, who defines the good here? Do we? Do both of us? Does God and us decide what's good? You know, Lord, I really think it'd be good if I had, you know, you know, projects lined up for five years and then I retire. That, you know, that's great, Lord. Is that good? So do we come up with what's good? Thankfully not. Because we would not get it right at all. So God does. So what, I forgot the question, what if we define what is good for us? How would that end up? We have a lot of Ferraris, a million dollars and all that, but are we happy? Watch the news at 10 o'clock and I'll tell you how that works out.

You know, I think I relate that story to Greenwood Village when another engineering company came in and the secular cop said, you know, in Greenwood Village, which is very affluent, he said they have everything they need, the kids, but all the kids have trouble. They're latch door kids, you know, the parents give them all the money and all the things of the world, but they're basket cases and suicides and drug abuse and all this kind of stuff. They gave me everything physically, but the cops said there's something missing in them. They could see that.

And so if we are in charge of this, give me everything, make life a lazy river. I'm sitting on a raft going around in circles, loving life. That's my desire. Is that what's good for me, for my being conformed to the image of Christ? No. So again, just the thought.

It is very nice that God is the one who does this. So, question seven, how did we get to be lovers of God from verse 28? And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So did this occur naturally from us? I think of the verse, we love him because he first loved us.

You're getting ahead. Oh, sorry. No, that's perfectly good. That's perfectly good. So you know your scripture. So I said, can we work up love for God? Can we work it up? Good. And we can't. The flesh, and we've discovered in the previous chapters, is an enmity to God. Our flesh is. There's nothing good in it. We're fighting every day. Our flesh. So we can't work this love up.

So where in Scripture do we find how to get to be lovers of God? Let me think. How about 1 John 4, and I had 7 through 12. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this, the love of God was manifested in us, and God has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. Again, and I think Mike had that diagram where it starts, the circle, where does it start? God loved us. God loved us. Doesn't start with us loving God. That's not the starting point in that circle diagram. God loved us. And then we love God.

So, I love, also I think it was out of Newham, maybe it was out of Newham. We cannot work up love for God, but his redeeming love for us, believed in, becomes the eternal cause and spring of our love to God. So his redeeming love for us is what creates a response, is what Carol said. We love him because his redeeming love for us Okay, question eight.

First bell. Does a called one mean they were issued an invitation? Yes. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So what does that mean to be called? Are we invited? Into his family to fulfill his purpose. Okay, we have an invite.

Would you say the subject of election is electing grace? Electing grace. Explain that. By grace, we have been saved through faith. So again, this is within the Brethren world of things between free will and election that you are. So were you predetermined? Yes, well, he knew. He knows. But this is what split the Brethren in two. It's just predetermined.

But we have a will to accept or decline that offer. So that's where, I think there's one of them, I think in the Brethren, let's say I've been through all this, this is major, and one of the great evangelists, Brethren of Andrews, said if it was all predetermined, we know, and if God knew and had a yellow stripe up the back of everybody, he'd be lifting the tailcoats of everybody in London, this is in the 1800s, to see which ones are believers. So, we don't know who... it goes back to free will. We still have the choice by faith. It comes down to faith. You're saved by grace through faith. A couple of things about this verse. This verse doesn't have anything to do with salvation. Right. This has to do with the predetermined will of God for those who are already believers.

Second thing is that, you know, we love to talk about the fairness argument. Is God fair? Well, if God's fair, If we all go to hell, we're doomed. Because none of us deserve it. And just because one gets it and the person next to you doesn't get it, doesn't make God unfair.

You know, Miles Stanford used to say that walking up to the gates of heaven, there's this big sign over the gate that says, whosoever will may come. But when you walk through the gate and look at the back of the sign, the back of the sign says, chosen from the foundations of eternity. So nobody ever deserves heaven or salvation We've all deserved hell. And without the character of who God is, that's where we would be. And I think at the end of it, when the great white throne judgment happens, I don't think one single lost soul will ever say, hey, I need a chance, another chance.

They would choose then the same thing they've chosen now. And I go back to, we were talking about this actually on the way in, you know, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten so that none may perish. His desire, none. So if it's predetermined, how does that work? No, it's still up to us, by faith, believing in salvation. And that's where, you know, I think from the election people, you know, that how do you get around that if you wanted everybody? And if it's him determining it, it should happen.

I think Pharaoh's a great example. Yeah. Because Pharaoh hardened his own heart the first several times, and God kept dealing with him, and then finally he said, well, I'm not going to deal with you anymore. Yeah, we're hardening your heart. And we'll just let you go.

We're going to get into this quite a bit more next week, but it's interesting that God's attribute of justice is not alone. It's balanced by the attribute of love. And so, if He were fully just, as Mike said, but if He was only love and not just, then He could sweep anything under the rug that He wanted to without dealing with it. And so, to see those two attributes specifically balance one another out, in the scripture is a comfort for us. He's perfectly loving and he's perfectly just.

And that those two attributes work together to provide a plan of escape for us, right? I think the thing that amazes me is that the plan of salvation was before anyone was created. Think about that one, that he knew that Adam, first thing out of the gate, He knew that he would have to send his son to die for us. So again, this thought of holy and righteous, he had to take care of it. And he knew that when he created us, he'd have to take care of it. And that means giving us his son.

And that to me blows my mind away. If I had that plan, I would have scrapped it and started throwing a sheet of paper out and start again. Why am I creating this? I have to give my son up, die for you that I created. And you're an enmity to me and I created you. So I'm going to have to give my son for you. I mean, that to me is the holy and righteous part. But that is love expressed beyond any measure. And you're right.

I mean, as we talked about last week, how this encompasses all of his attributes, not just a single aspect of it with his love. Well, we can get into it next. Actually, I'm going to be gone next week, but we should talk about the invited. If you want to start there, if you're whoever's going to pick it up about that, this does not mean the invited. All right. Well, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you. Again, we thank you about these foundational verses and what they mean and how comforting they are to us. Again, just the thought of your sovereignty working in a billion, billion, billion different ways, interrelated between all of us and all that is created. heavens, the earth, the molecules, everything that's in your control and you're using it all. And in the believer, it's to be used all to be conformed to your son's image. And what a delight that is, that knowing no matter what happens, no matter what goes on, you're using all things to conform us to his image. And we thank you for that in all these scriptures that are foundational in our Christian life.

So we just thank you for that. We do pray for Mike in the next meeting as he gives us a message just to have him accurate to the word and just prepare our hearts to receive it. And we just pray for this day for each and every one of us that all that we say and do will honor and glorify you. In Jesus name we pray, amen.