Brothers and sisters, it is always a privilege to open God's word and to do that in the context of the family and people of God. There is very few expressions like this that look forward to heaven. Being with God's people, of being with God, is exactly what we were made for. Let's bow and pray, shall we? Lord Jesus, you are the one we adore. You are the one our hearts long for. Everything about you is everything we need. And that which is not of you is exactly that which we don't need. And so we ask you now, oh God, would you give us yourself? Would you come? Would you personally live among us by your spirit? Would you move us by your word? That Lord, by word and spirit, we may bring you glory and we may love what you do in us. Thank you, oh God, for the wonderful joy that glory of you and our enjoyment live together in the same place we bless you oh god be lifted up now we pray amen friends if you have your bibles and i trust your answers absolutely we do please do turn in your bibles to a passage that is a biggie for me glenn certainly knows the one i have preached this passage before more than one occasion, simply because there are some passages that when they get hold of you, they make you different. You know the expression, if you've come to faith in Christ and are growing in Christ, you know from God's Word that there are certain passages that the Holy Spirit changes you by. This is one of those for me. It has changed my worldview. Why do we seek to grow people? Why do we seek to take God's word out? It's not primarily for them. It's not primarily because we are being obedient. It's primarily for the glory of God. That's just one example of how a passage like this changes me. So turn with me to Romans chapter 11, verse 33. I see Glenn smiling already. He knows where I'm going. I've entitled this God's plan for everything. I could entitle it passages too big to preach. I could entitle it passages that change you I Could entitle this the bottom of Everything Or God's purpose for everything or the reason why God does anything All of those fits into what we're about to see Romans 11 33 is where I'm reading and let me very briefly set the context of You know Romans all the way 1 through 11 is the doctrine section. Chapter 12, in light of the doctrine section, this is how we're going to live as sacrifices living to the glory of God. It's the split. We're looking at the end of the doctrine section, just before Paul, or just before the Holy Spirit transitions into the, in light of this, how do we now live? It's also the end of the section that deals with chapter 9, 10, and 11. Hang on, if the gospel has come to all people and the gospel changes people, how come the Jews aren't changed? How come if the gospel came first to the Jews, how come so few of the Jews are Bible-believing Christians? That's Romans 9, 10, and 11. And Paul deals with that very difficult question in terms of the plan of God for the nations and the plan of God for the Israelites. Such that this is the end of the discussion of that section as well. And it reads like this. O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments, and how inscrutable His ways, for who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor, or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid for from Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. There are some things as you grow up in life that are difficult to understand, right? Like calculus, and integration, or the way the planets move around the sun, or how mass and gravity are related, all sorts of things. or about the ways of a mother with her young child. There are some ways that are so difficult to understand. And there's a reason for that. It's that you are not God. God understands and has made all things. You are not him. That is, your whole life, you're going to be playing catch-up. Your whole life. You're going to be, for the rest of your life, playing catch-up and thinking God's thoughts after Him. Your whole life. Since that life is a journey, you're meant to be curious, and life is a lifelong learning. Your whole life. This passage tells us that you cannot grasp everything. That there are some things that are beyond your ability to get. I find that quite disturbing, because I like understanding things. I'm one of those guys. If there's a broken toaster, I want to see why it's broken and see if I can fix it. And sometimes, even when it's not broken, I want to understand it. How come when you turn that dial, it pops up just at the right moment? What is it inside the toaster that makes it work like that? My problem was not taking things apart, my problem was putting them back together again. There are some things that you will not be able to understand. And the reason for that is here, is that you're not God. Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, deeper than you can go. How unsearchable are his judgments? How come, God, you haven't saved everyone? How come, God, you only save certain people? Well, God's judgments are unsearchable. and his ways are inscrutable. That is, you will never ever get to the end of trying to understand why God does things the way he does. There's some things you start to understand and you really enjoy, and there's other things you start to understand and you don't enjoy. And you ask, why God did you do it like this? Like the plan for my life. Why God did you cause that to happen in our family? Why God do you allow children in this country to be raped and trafficked? How inscrutable are his words? If I were explaining to my little child when my children were little children, I would say things like this. The toaster pops up at just the right moment because when you turn the dial, if you turn it this way, it pops up early and your toast isn't ready. But if you turn it too far this way, your toast is black, right? And burnt. And I'll explain to the little child where to put the dial, right? I won't tell them about how inside the toaster it works like that. I'll wait till they're older and if they ever ask me, I'll try and tell them. And I will explain things like, if you turn it too far to the right, your toast will be burnt because that's how it works. Because. because you'll notice verse 33 tells you you will never ever get to the end of understanding God. That's what it says. Verse 34 tells you why. For Who has known the mind of the Lord? That is, the God who is above all things. Can anyone comprehend a God who's bigger than everything? Answer, no. Or, who has been his counselor? God, I don't think you should do it like this. I think, with my vast knowledge, you should rather do it like this. Haven't you prayed like that sometimes? But doesn't God know more than you? Doesn't he know better than you? And the things you think you know, you might actually not know at all? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? God, do you remember the favor I did for you? I think it's payback time. Give me a break. This is God. He doesn't owe anyone anything. That's why you will never ever be able to understand. is because God thinks higher than you, that he does not need an advisor, and he does not owe anyone anything. That's verse 34 and 35. Because, verse 36, that is the reason underneath those two things. First one, you'll never ever get to understand everything. Second one, because God is wiser than you. You're a bad advisor and he doesn't owe you anything. The reason for that is verse 36. That is the end of all the doctrine, the end of the difficult argument about why God is delaying saving Jewish people, the end of why you can't understand, the end of the fact Well, the question is to how wise is God? Verse 36, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. I often use this example, I would say to a class or you, I have a bucket in front of me. Imagine a nice big bucket. It's a really big bucket as you'll see. And I'm gonna ask you, to bring with you all things, right? You're going to bring all things and you're going to put them in the bucket. So what are you bringing with you? You're bringing hamsters, you're bringing birds, you're bringing your lunch, you're bringing your clothing and your glasses. Leave the clothing idea out, we don't want to go there for a moment. But you're bringing all things, right? You're bringing planets and stars and solar systems. You're bringing all things, love and care and honesty and you're putting them here in the bucket. What's outside of the bucket? What's left out? I'm asking you to get in the bucket also, right? Because you're part of all things, right? So we're all in the bucket and everything that you know And that which you even don't know is with you in the bucket. Right? What's outside the bucket? Nothing, right? Because the passage says all things. For from him and through him and to him are all things. Every single thing is from him and through him and to him. Including you. and your glasses and your clothing and the hamsters and the birds and everything is from Him and through Him and to Him. There are three things that this passage says we are to think about everything in the bucket. From Him. That is, He is the originator of all things. If you have ever come across a hamster, or a bird, or your lunch, or clothing, or whatever it is, you know where it comes from. Because he is the originator of all things. Right? What's outside the bucket? Nothing, right? Everything comes from him. We know Genesis chapter one, verse one, in the beginning, God, he created, he made, not fashioned, but made new for the first time from, from see if you can see it, right? Ephesians chapter four, verse six, that there is one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. That sounds a little bit like from him, through him, to him, doesn't it? Colossians 1, 15 and 16, a passage I've read a few times with you as students. Here's the image, Christ, of the invisible God. The one you can't see, that's the one you can see. The firstborn of all creation, for by Him all things were created. in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. But everything that which you can see and experience, and even that which you've never experienced, never seen, is made by Him. Everything. That is, every single thing you come across in this world has one origin point. It is the person of Jesus Christ. He is the originator of all things. That has a number of implications. That's why I say this passage changed the way I see things. That means you are made by Jesus. You are made just the way you are made by one who knows better than you. God, why did you make me like this and not like that? Because Jesus knew what he was doing when he made you. He knew what he was doing when he made everything, even the things you don't understand. Because who has known the mind of the Lord? I am created by Christ, the all-knowing Son. That means I don't complain. Right? We do on occasion, don't you? I wish God I was a little bit shorter, like normal people. All sorts of things are on our list, right? But God knew more than you about how to make just the way He's made you. Moreover, God has made everyone the way he wanted to make them. Kathy, my wife, why aren't you more like me? Because God made her just the way he wanted to and he knew better than I did. Moreover, Jesus not only formed you the way he wanted you, but he formed you for a purpose. Think about that. Everything God makes has a purpose. You know that, right? Why did God make trees? Go on. You could have 10 answers, right? Maybe 20 answers. to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, to make fire, all sorts of nonsense, right? Everything He forms, He forms for a purpose. Guess what He did when He made you? He made you for a purpose. What is your purpose? What is your purpose in God's mind? I'll tell you. For from Him and through Him and to Him is you. From Him, Originator, to Him, the glory. Your purpose in this world is to bring glory to God by the way He has made you. Just the you that makes you, you. You are formed for a purpose. That is the glory of God. From Him is you in the bucket and everything else. To Him, His glory is everything, not just you. Your lunch and flowers and trees and solar systems, porpoises and penguins and purple and everything else is made for the glory of God. Everything. Why did God make anything at all? for His glory. The hard bit in this passage, I think, is not the origination or the consummation for from Him and to Him are all things. The hard bit in this passage is the through Him. How is all things through Christ? I can understand how God made all things. I can understand that all things are made for the purpose of His glory. And think about that for a moment. From Him, through Him, to Him. You've got movement, right? From Him, origin. To Him, end. Right? But what about the middle? What about that? How does that work? I think it is the hardest part of this passage. Not thinking that God can think higher thoughts than me, that I can think, that God knows better than me, I know that full well. The hard bit in this passage is not everything has been made by Him, or everything has been made for Him, but how is everything made through Him? What do you think? What do you think? And can you think the way God thinks? Yet, fortunately, we have in Scripture some clues as to what that might mean. Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 and 17 is a great comparative passage. It sounds a lot like Romans chapter 11 verse 36. I'll read it again. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. whether thrones or dominions or rulers, and you could do visible or invisible both there as well. All things were created, and you'd expect the passage to say, by Him, and that's not what it says. Isn't that fascinating? All things were created by Him, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, all things were created, what does it say? Through Him. And what does it say? For Him. The same thing. By Him, through Him, for Him. And then it tells you why. And He is before all things, right? You can't have something without a before something, right? He is before all things. He creates everything. He is uncreated. He is before all things. And in him all things hold together. There's a clue as to the through him. All things hold together. Now think about that for a moment. We know that things are made of atoms. The Greek word atom should mean the smallest thing you can get to, right? So you get the periodic table and all of that describing the atoms. So oxygen, hydrogen, helium, lithium, all of those, remember that? Did you do that? Yeah, good. That is, it's got a bit in the middle and it's got a bit flying around the outside. Remember that? Nucleus with a proton and a bit flying around called an electron. And sometimes there are more than one flying around. Remember that? Atom. How does the bit in the middle hold the bits flying around together? Oh, they would say, well, this is positively charged and this is negatively charged and they pull each other together. Great. But how does that work? Who made it such that the positive nucleus should hold the negatively charged electrons? Who made it that way? And who keeps it made that way? How come these guys don't fly off? And before you know it, you haven't got oxygen to breathe, and there's no hydrogen, and there's no nothing, because all the bits have flown off into whatever. And how come the earth spins around the sun at just the right speed and just the right distance so that you don't go too close and burn up and you don't go too far and get cold all of winter? And it gets worse because you're going out, right? Who keeps it like that? Answer? Jesus. How does gravity work? How does this mass and this mass work together? Answer? He is the sustainer of all things. Everything is made by Him, everything is made for Him, and He holds all things together right now. Are you still a Christian? There's a reason He's a sustainer of your faith. Are you still alive? Are you still breathing? Is your heart still pumping? Are you still thinking? Can you hear these words? Can you see me in front of you? There's a reason for that. He sustains your eyesight, and your ear sight, and your heart sight, and your breathing sight. He sustains all things. Why? Because it's made for Him, from Him, and you right now are being sustained by Him, through Him, to His glory. It's the bit in the middle. It's not the only bit in the middle. that everything finds its purpose in the kingship of Christ. You, right now, if you were not a believer, and there might be some in this room that are not believers right now, the only reason you are being sustained is for His glory by your eternal destruction. Jesus will reconcile all things to himself in heaven or in hell. Fact. His wrath will be played out and he will be satisfied by your eternal destruction. Fact. Or your eternal joy and glory. That is, right now, if you do not know Christ, the only reason for your being sustained is for punishment. Every bit of food you put in your mouth looks forward to a destruction yet to come. Every breath you take looks forward to a day when you will no longer take a breath. You must know Christ. You must know the one who made you and for whom you are fashioned. You've got to know him. Jesus holds all things together. And he is the head of his church. He's not only the sustainer of you and this, but he is the head of all that is yet to be. Yes, you see church. We've sung together to his praise and honor. That's church, right? God's people praising him. But it's not a patch on what we will yet do. It's not a patch. Wait till you see everyone throughout all the ages gathered in one place praising God without sin perfectly for all eternity. That's church. That is what you're made for. This is a briefer expression of that right now. This is the imperfect. through Him. Let me put it to you, that if you do not know Christ now, you battle to make sense of life. That is, knowing Christ, you know that you can't know all things perfectly. You know that there is a God who is bigger and wiser than you. You know that you come under His authority. You know that's a joyful thing. Implication of the fact that Jesus Christ, that we are made through Him, has to do with, I am saved for His glory right now. I am through Him. Right now, God is holding me in every way. The only reason I'm still here is because God gives me life and breath and everything. for a purpose. And not just a final purpose, but a purpose right now. That is, come to faith, be part of this body of Christ and find the reason for your existence. You'd be crazy not to. Everything makes sense. Douglas Moo, things only make sense when Christ is kept at the center. You see, we know that our solar system rotates around the sun because it has the greater mass. And we know our Christian lives rotate around the person of Christ because he has the greatest mass. Everything about everything is him. Everything is made by God, everything is made for God, and everything is sustained right now by God right now. I put it to you, friends, that the way this passage ends, and notice the last phrase, to Him be glory forever, amen, is what we need to say every single moment of every single day. In a moment we're gonna break, have coffee or tea if you've got enough time between now and then. And possibly lunch later and a sleep later. All of that is glory. All of that is His glory if you are made in Him. And you might feel, and it does feel like this is just me, right? This is just me having lunch. No, no, no, it's not. You're made by Him. You're sustained right now through Him in terms of your life and your faith and everything. But it's purposeful. It has behind it. To Him be glory forever, amen. So when you bow and say thank you, Jesus, for food, what you're saying is, yours is the glory. This was made by you. This was sustained by you for me, so that I might be for your glory. And in a curious way, this, even before I put it in my mouth, is for your glory. It's all for God's glory. Every single thing, because there's nothing outside the bucket. In light of this, so what? So what? One, be aware. Be aware. You're not made for yourself. You're not made to rule yourself. Be aware. Everything, no matter what you look at, is made by Him, is made for Him and is sustained for Him, through Him right now. Everything. Be aware. Be aware. When I meet different people, Here is somebody that God has made. Oh yes, it's marred by sin, but here is the image of God. No matter who am I talking to. Be aware. Your lunch. The taste of coffee. The warmth of a jacket. All of these things. Aware. Be aware. Open your eyes. from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. So be aware. I don't think we see enough. I don't think we see enough. And if we see, we don't realize what we're seeing. Be aware. Secondly, be appreciative. Be appreciative. Every single thing that God has made is purposeful. It's for His glory, every single thing. Therefore, if God has given you, under your stewardship, anything at all, be appreciative. My brother's sitting with a nice warm scarf. Be appreciative, right? If you've got something to wear on your head to keep you warm, be appreciative. If you've got money in your pocket, be appreciative. If you've got legs to walk and a brain to think and eyes that can see, be appreciative. Idolatry is using that which God has made for you. It's stealing the glory from who it rightly belongs. Thirdly, be aggressive or axing of sin. be aggressive or acting of sin. If you're not using something for God's glory, you're using it for you, and that is idolatry. That is pagan worship. If this is just about you, God will glorify himself by your destruction, because you are not glorifying him. You shall have no other gods before me. Be aggressive of sin. Everything in my day is now, okay, is this just for me or is this for your glory? Everything. Be adoring. Fourthly, be adoring. Everything should lead to worship. Appreciation says thank you. Adoring says how good of God to give me this What sort of God would give me this? What sort of God would be so kind to me be worshipful in adoring and lastly be anticipated Be anticipated that is think about where everything is going Everything has one direction It's going to the glory of God. Everything. Both by its final fulfillment or by its final de-fulfillment. Right? Everything. It's going one direction. The glory of God in His mercy and grace or the glory of God by its destruction. Therefore, you want to be looking forward to what that's going to look like. I often speak about birds that in heaven they will not say tweet tweet, they will say glory glory. And so will fish and dogs and everything. Everything. And you won't have to work it out. I close with a quotation. This world is beautiful but badly broken. St. Paul said that it groans, but I love even its groaning. I love this round stage where we act out the tragedies and the comedies of history. I love it with all its villains and petty liars and self-righteous pompers. I love the ants and the laughter of wide-eyed children encountering their first butterfly. I love it as it is because it is a story. And it isn't stuck in one place. It is full of conflict and darkness like every good story. And like every good story, there will be an ending. I love the world as it is because I love what it will be. Father, our minds are too small to think of the bigness of you. This text is too big to adequately preach. The truth behind it, too deep to even conceive 1% of. Because you are a great God and worthy of all worship of all things, for these are all yours. And you will redeem everything by Christ your Son. Everything by the cross or everything by its destruction. by its eternal punishment. God, I pray now that you would help those that hear to hear, that you would cause their eyes to be opened to see that they may glorify you with all that you have made them to be. We look forward to the day, Lord Jesus, when we will finally see you in glory. with all your holy angels around you, with those creatures worshipping and saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And we will be there, and we will see and hear because of what you've done for us. Oh God, be worshipped, be lifted up. You are worthy. There is no one like you. We love you, O God. Keep us to that day. Amen.