Turn with me, please, to Romans chapter 8 this morning, Romans chapter 8. Once again, as a Bible conference, I want the Word to be central, and I'd like us to read the entirety of this chapter, even though we're going to be focusing our attention today on verses 26 through 28. Let's stand, please, with reverence for the Lord and His Holy Word. I'll read aloud as you follow along in your Bibles. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also should be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is not seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise, the spirit also helpeth in our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he who condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And all God's people said. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Would you please be seated? I want to thank all of you as students for the way that you've ministered to me this week. It's been a great blessing to interact with so many of you. Many of you are the friends of my children, and these last few years as they've been going through school, it's been a pleasure to know you and get to know you, and I'm grateful for the wonderful spirit that's on campus of people who truly love and care for each other and enjoy each other's company. It's a blessing to be with you as students. I also am so grateful for all of the faculty and staff, many of whom are the people who've invested so dearly into my life and are now investing into my children. I'm really grateful for this extra time by which someone is willing to have students over to their house and pour into them and have relationship with them. And I think that that is a very refreshing movement on campus where you see staff members that are discipling and having personal relationship. And so I'm grateful for that. Dr. Bell, I'm very appreciative for not only what you've invested in my life, but also now for my daughter to take the same systematic theology class that I had. And for Dr. Bell, congratulations on your retirement and thank you for touching so many lives and encouraging them to love the scripture, to love sound doctrine. We're just so grateful for you. All of us are extremely grateful for the message last night. Pastor Belford led us into the transcendence of God, a reminder that the God of hope is a God who is, He's immense. He's infinite. He's beyond our comprehension. He is unlimited in His strength. He's unlimited in His wisdom. He is a God that we can trust with all of our heart. He is a God who holds all the waters in the palm of His hand. He is a God who measures all of the stars with a span. He's a God who measures the mountains, all of the mountains of the earth. He measures them as fruit in a scale. God is indeed transcendent, and a fresh view of Him is exactly what we needed. But we also need to remember that that transcendent God who is infinite and unlimited is also what we call eminent. That means that he is near. That means that he knows what you need before you even ask. That means that he knows the number of hairs that are on your head. That means that his spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. That means that he being near to you is the one who causes us to cry out, Abba, Father. That means that he's the one who makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. The other source of the God of hope, the other side that we consider, is not only is he massive, beyond our comprehension in his greatness, but he is also close by and near and intimately involved with us. As Jesus was preparing his disciples for his death and for his departure from them, he spoke words such as this to them in John 14 through 16. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. And in John 16, he ends saying, in me, I want you to have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. How could these disciples face peace? How could they have hope? How could they have a sense of God's presence when they were hearing that Jesus was going to be taken from them? The most remarkable part of this high priestly prayer to me is that Jesus would pray for his disciples and he would say to them, it is to your advantage that I depart and go away. It's expedient for you. I'm sure that the disciples were thinking, how in the world could it be to our advantage that you're away from us? You're the one who's been with us as we've gone through the storms. You're the one who fed multitudes when we had nothing to offer them and our resources were so limited. You're the one who took care of my mother-in-law when she had a fever. How can you tell us that it's to our advantage that you would depart and go away? And Jesus said, "'If I don't go to my Father, "'then I will not be able to send the Comforter to you, "'but if I go, I will send that Comforter.'" And here's what Jesus said. He said, "'He who has been with you will be in you.'" My brothers and sisters, today, I want you to understand that the eminence of God's presence with us, His intimate care for us, is expressed to us in a greater sense than had ever been known by any of the saints throughout biblical history. Certainly, the Spirit of God was there and He was active in the Old Testament. Even in creation, the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep. We know that the Spirit of God would come upon people for specific tasks, where He would come on even King Saul, so that King Saul could prophesy because the Spirit of God came. But we also know that the Spirit of God would come and He would go. It was a very real prayer that David made in Psalm 51 when he said, take not thy Holy Spirit from me, because in Old Testament time, that was a very real possibility that the Spirit of God would come upon people and anoint them for a specific task, but he also would be removed from them. And in the Old Testament, though the Spirit of God was there, the Old Testament prophets anticipated something that would be far better with words such as this. Behold, the days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This will be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people. He says, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. And I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sin no more. When Jeremiah 31 describes the new covenant that the people were looking for, they were looking for something that would replace that old covenant that they had had. There would be something that would be beyond just the law that was written in a stone. And instead, there would be something that would come, a blessing that they would anticipate that included, and I'm going then at them in reverse order, but it included forgiveness of sin. We all recognize that through the new covenant, we have justification, we have forgiveness, we have redemption. And frankly, it would be enough for me if all that we had in our salvation was forgiveness of sin. Can anyone say amen to that? But you have far more than just forgiveness of sin. You also have intimacy with God. He said, everyone will know me and the knowing of me will mean that we know our God as a father to us. We become his children. And intimacy, if that was all that we had in our salvation, intimacy, that would be enough for me. But he also says that I'm going to give you a new heart. He said, I'm going to put my Spirit within you. He comes and he says that he's going to take out our stony heart of flesh and he's going to give us a living heart, a living heart of flesh. That means that our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ includes not only forgiveness and an escape from hell and a home in heaven, but it also includes a newness of life. Newness of life means that it's no longer I who live, it's Christ who lives in me. It means that the Spirit of God is no longer just with us, He is now in us. The Old Testament saints were blessed by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but they were anticipating something better, such that Ezekiel would express in Ezekiel 36, I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. A new heart will I give to you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall do them and my judgments. What's described in this passage is that God is now no longer just going to tell us by a code of commandments that we should love God with all of our heart and soul, mind, and strength. He's not only going to describe a love for God by telling us that we should remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and not take the name of the Lord in vain, that we should worship the Lord our God, and Him only should we worship. We should not have any graven image. But beyond that description that he gave, there's a recognition that those stone tablets that were given, those commandments could describe to us righteousness and tell us to love God, but it never gave us any ability to do so. And no one was able to keep the law. The law could tell us to love our neighbor as ourself, and it could even give us the details of what it meant to love your neighbor as yourself. He could tell you to honor your mother and father, and not lie, and not murder, and not commit adultery, and not covet. But the Old Testament could never give you the ability to do so. Instead, God said, I'm gonna give you a new covenant, and that new covenant will be the law written on your heart. I'm gonna now come, and by my Spirit indwelling you, I'm gonna do something from within you that could never happen from the outside. Jesus fulfills that new covenant when he said, even to his disciples, the night before he was to be crucified, he took a cup and he said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. And that new covenant is fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ to where he could promise them, not only do they receive the benefits of new covenant relationship, but he also could say to them, it's to your advantage that I depart and go away from you. My friends, you could not have any more peace. You couldn't have any more access to hope. If Jesus Christ were dwelling with us and performing His miracles among us, there's nothing gained by His presence with us that is not that's not any lesser than the blessing that you already receive, that says the Spirit of God who had been with you will be in you, and now that Spirit of Christ is in you. Romans 8 is describing the blessings of that indwelling Spirit when He says, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. But if we have the Spirit of Christ, we walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And as he goes all through Romans 8, he gives us the advantages in the ministry of the Spirit of God who transforms us and changes us. And listen, he emancipates and frees us. He's the one who would come and say, the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. What's that mean? Does that mean that somehow the law is abolished and it doesn't matter? No, the law is still remaining where it says, love God and love your neighbor. But now we have a new enablement. So that if we not only live in the Spirit, but if we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love. He begins producing from the inside of us what the law could not produce on the outside. And so He emancipates us. Not that He gives us the freedom to break the law. He gives us the freedom to fulfill the law. And that emancipation, that freedom is God's work within us. The newness of life by which Jesus said this, he said, you must be born again. What does it mean to be born again? Well, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And you, my friends, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, as followers of Jesus, as those who have come to salvation, you have received something far beyond just a home in heaven. although that would be enough. You've received something that is far more than escape from hell and a forgiveness of sin and a fresh start. You have received newness of life. You've received the intimacy of the Spirit of God who's indwelling you. And that intimacy with God is not something that just gives you some sort of ecstatic utterance or some sort of nonsense that takes place that has been so often misunderstood of the Spirit's work today. Instead, He would come and He said, far greater than any gift that I would ever give you, What's going to be great is the fruit that I will bear in you. I can prove this to you, because an awful lot of you may even be confused that you think spirituality is measured by the exercise of some spiritual gift. But in 1 Corinthians 13, it even comes and it says this, even if I could speak with the tongue of men and of angels, but if I do not have love, I am nothing. You know what that means? That means the spiritual fruit always always trumps an exercise of a spiritual gift. And we're living in a day when everyone wants to experience some spiritual gift. Oh, I want to have all wisdom and knowledge to understand mysteries. Wait, if you have all wisdom and knowledge to understand mysteries, but if you do not have love, you are nothing. Everyone wants to have a spiritual gift. Oh, if I could give all my money away to the poor. Wait, if you don't have love, you are nothing. And so I'm not arguing with you about what your gifts exist. And I definitely don't believe that there's an exercise of the signed gifts today. I'm a cessationist and I believe that they fulfilled their purpose already. But I am coming to anyone who would listen and saying, do not be confused and do not be enamored with spiritual gifts. Understand that God's work is a work that is within you. And the fruit of his spirit is what we most long for. And one of those fruits that he grants to us is the fruit of hope. We had already seen in Romans chapter 8 that the Spirit is the one who ministers to us and grants us hope. We're saved by hope. Hope that is seen is not hope. For when a man sees, why does he yet hope for it? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with patience. That hope that he's describing is a hope that is not seen. And the hope that is not seen is the anticipation that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. We've already seen within that anticipation the groan of all creation that is eagerly waiting for its consummation. We had heard the groan of a Christian by which through suffering and difficulty and hardship, we ourselves groan in our body, we groan in our spirit, longing for that which is eternal, longing to see Jesus face to face and be like him, longing to put off this corruptible body and put on that which is incorruptible. We find the groan of a Christian, but we've also been introduced to the groan of the Comforter, the groan of the Spirit, who prays for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. And that all leads us to verses 26 through 28, which is our focus of attention this morning. Likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our infirmities or our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the mind of the Spirit is, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. This passage of Scripture offers hope, where it offers comfort for Christians—Christians that are living in a sin-cursed world, Christians that continually have troubles and tribulations, Christians that need to know that there is a mighty God who's at work on your behalf, but you need to know that there's an intimate God who knows you and cares for you and prays for you. There's hope in this passage in what we do not know, but there's also hope in what we do know. What we don't know is we don't know what we should pray for as we ought. This passage describes our ignorance and it describes our weakness. And when he tells us that we're weak, he's saying the spirit helps us in our infirmities. The infirmities are not described as iniquities. And too many times, We allow the accuser of the brethren to come and beat us up and to accuse us as if somehow our infirmities are iniquities, that somehow we're sinning and displeasing to God. Wait a second. When you're going through trials and tribulations and difficulty and heartache and disappointment, when you're going through confusion, you need to remember that God knows our frame, that we are but dust. And he's not asking you to be a superhero, he's asking you to realize that his grace is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in weakness. Someone say amen and help me out on this a little bit. I know it's not a common thing necessarily in this setting to say amen, but friends, the spirit of God helps us in our weakness. You don't have to walk around with some sort of facade as if you're handling everything and everything's just okay, but the spirit knows our infirmities. To know our infirmities and our weakness reminds me that even Peter, as well intentioned as he may have been that night in which Jesus was crucified, Peter fell asleep. And when he had fallen asleep, the Lord came to him and he said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Part of our groaning as Christians is a recognition that says our flesh is weak, but to also rejoice in this truth that the spirit helps us in our infirmities. The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, but he also helps us in our ignorance. In our ignorance, it says that we don't even know what we should pray for as we ought. Is there anyone who can sympathize with this and know that there are times that I don't even know how to pray? There have been times I've sat in my office and all I could say is, oh, Lord, help. Help, help. Oh, help, help, help. And he doesn't hear us because of our repetitions and vain repetitions. I know that, but there's nothing else that I could say. And I'm in good company when I don't know how to pray. The Apostle Paul was a man who, well, he was weak, he had infirmities, but there certainly weren't iniquities, because I don't know of anyone that was more dedicated and devoted to serving his Lord than the Apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, it speaks about his ministering to Christ and what he had done and what he had suffered when he said, I have served Christ more abundantly in labors, in stripes, in death, often in prison. Of the Jews, five different times, I received 40 stripes, save one, 39 lashes. He says, thrice I was beaten with rods. I've been stoned. I've been shuffling shipwrecks three times. At night and the day, I've been in the deep. I've been in journeyings and in perils, dangers in water, danger and robbers, perils of my own countrymen, perils of the heathen. He was always in peril and danger, and yet here's a man in all of his devotion would go through a time of trial and difficulty that he called The care of the churches. As he talked about the care of the churches, he said, lest I be exalted above measure, there was a thorn in the flesh that was given to me, a messenger of Satan that was sent to buffet me. A messenger of Satan is an oppressing spirit that would come, and we don't know exactly what the nature of it was, but we do know that this man, when he's going through trial and heartache and difficulty, didn't even know what he should pray for. So he said, three times, I asked the Lord to remove this thorn from me. But he came back and he answered and said, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Can I tell you that when you don't know what you should pray for, when you're going through a trial and a difficulty, you don't understand what is taking place, you don't even understand the messenger of Satan or why he would buffet you, let me tell you, you can trust God that he is using that circumstance to humble you. He's using that circumstance to draw you closer to himself to where three times you would prayerfully come to him. And he's using all of that to teach us one great lesson. My grace is sufficient for you and my strength has made perfect in your weakness. Here's a man who didn't know how he should pray, but the spirit interceded for him with groanings that could not be uttered. the man Elijah. Elijah was a man just like us, and Elijah had many of his prayers that would be answered to where he could pray, and it wouldn't even give rain for a period of time. But Elijah was a man who was not filled with iniquity. He wasn't filled with something that needed to be rebuked and chastened. He's a man who's more courageous than anyone I know, who's willing, in his mind, he's the only faithful one who's standing. Even though he wasn't right about that, in his mind, he was all alone. And he's willing to go face hundreds of prophets of Baal. And as he's confronting them and calling them to this truth, the Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God. There's no one who's been more courageous than that man. And yet, even in spite of his courage, he comes to a point of exhaustion, he comes to a point of weakness, he comes to a point of infirmity by which the only prayer that he could utter is, God, just kill me. Just let me die. Some of us think that we're far too spiritual to say a prayer like that, but I know that there are pastors that are here today who have had those moments where they say, all right, God, just take me home. The best days are behind me. If you're gonna put me on the shelf, if everything is finished, if I have to go through these troubles, I'd rather just be home. Just kill me. There are older folks who have gone through some difficulties, and in their moment, they just say, God, just take me home. I'm ready to go. To live is Christ, but to die is gain, and Lord, just kill me. Aren't you grateful that the Lord doesn't answer all of our prayers? And in this case, he didn't kill Elijah. Instead, he gave Elijah what Elijah really needed, a little bit of refreshment, some food, some rest, some fresh perspective of who God is. And as a result, God continued to use this man. Here's a man who didn't know what he should pray for as he ought, but the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. How about the woman Mary? I have to confess that I get some of the Marys confused in the New Testament, in the life of Jesus. But was there anyone who loved Jesus more than Mary? One who would come to Him and she would wash His feet with her tears and wipe His feet with her hair? One that would pour out a costly ointment upon Him? Is there anyone who loved any more than this? Yes, from what I understand, it's the same Mary who would come and her point of greatest disappointment When Jesus had been crucified and she comes to the garden where she's looking for the body of the Lord Jesus to care for it, and because he's not there, she becomes so disillusioned, she becomes so disappointed and confused that she goes to the garden keeper, who she thought was the gardener, and she says, just tell me where his body is. All she could pray for and hope for is, just tell me where his body is. Just show me where that dead body is. I'm already disappointed. She didn't even recognize the one that she loved so much, and he was right there. And he would say, Mary, it is I. And she was able to embrace him and recognize he is right here. In those moments when we don't know what we should pray for, when we ask for silly things, coming to Jesus himself, the living one, the one who had promised that he would be raised again. And when she comes to him and says, just tell me where his body is. Well, the spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be uttered when we are in our moment of ignorance. How about Job? You think Job knew what he should pray for, is he odd, when he's going through trial and difficulty? Job had no idea that when he had lost all of his business, all of his wealth, all of his savings, all of his retirement, lost his children, when this man had lost his health, he had no idea that there was a cosmic struggle that was going on, that God was allowing him to face this, not because of his sinfulness, but God had allowed him to face this because of his faithfulness. Comprehend that one, my friends. He's going through all of those because God said there is not a more upright man in all of the earth who turns away from evil and does good. Here's a man who will trust me even though I slay him. He didn't know that there was this cosmic struggle and the enemy had been given an opportunity to strike him and to take all of these things. And when he didn't know what he should pray for, in Job chapter 7, he says, O preserver of men, what have I done that you wouldn't remove my sin? What is my transgression that you would continually punish me? Here's a man who didn't know what he should pray for as he ought, but, my friends, the Spirit helps us in our infirmities, and he prays for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. If you think of all of the different saints who didn't know what they should pray for, who found hope and peace, knowing that God intimately cared for them, that God was invested in their life. Not only could he hold all of the stars, but he knows you by name and he knows your burdens by name. And you can find comfort in these things. That even if you don't know what you should pray for, the spirit prays for us and it ministers to us in our weakness and our ignorance. There was another one who I believe didn't know what he should pray for as he ought. And I have to be careful on this because Jesus Christ is the eternal God who manifested his omniscience and omnipotence and demonstrated himself to be truly the son of God. But he also took on human weakness. He took on human flesh. And the night in the garden when he was praying, you remember he prayed maybe something that we can identify when he would say, Father, take this cup from me. If it's possible, if there's any other way, take this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." In our human weakness and infirmity, God translates our prayers, and he prays according to the will of God. And though we are ignorant, we can trust in him. And this passage says, the Spirit helps in our infirmities. We don't know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. I don't believe that that's some sort of ecstatic speech. That's not talking about a prayer language that excuses us. Instead, we're to pray in the Spirit and with our understanding. That's not some ecstatic thing. Instead, that's God himself communing on our behalf, things that we don't know, things that we don't understand. And note, he says that he searcheth the hearts and he knoweth what the mind of the spirit is because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. When we talk about the will of God, there are certain points of the will of God that we just don't know. And we have to trust in the Lord with all of our heart and not lean on our own understanding. Now, certainly there's the moral will of God that is revealed to us through the scripture, things that he gives by way of commands and precepts. And we follow the will of God when we obey what his word has said. We are not ignorant of that moral will. But there's also the sovereign will of God. And by the sovereign will of God, we recognize that the king of the earth does what is right, that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord and he directs it wherever he chooses. We start recognizing that God is sovereign as the king of all of the earth. He is in control. But my friends, there is also the personal will of God. And in that personal will of God, there are times where we don't know, we don't understand exactly what's taking place. And I'm talking to a lot of seniors. They're getting ready to graduate that are concerned about what is the will of God. Where is God gonna take me? What job am I gonna do? Where should I live? How should I serve? You're concerned about the will of God. And here's what I want you to know, in your anxiety and concern, the Spirit knows what the will of God is and He's praying. And so if you are following the moral will of God and being obedient to His word, if you know that God is sovereign, directing all things, then you can also trust that the Lord is my shepherd. and that he will lead me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. You can know that Christ is the head of the church who places each part of the body exactly where he wants it to be. You can trust his personal will, but let's be honest, for an awful lot of you, you're not asking what is the will of God for my life, you're asking who is the will of God for my life. An awful lot of young men and young women get to a certain point and they say, oh, I just had this disappointing breakup. I've just had this heartbreak. I've had these things that take place. Am I going to be one of those ladies that just has 30 cats to keep her, you know, companionship in her old age? When I was a senior here at Bob Jones, I got to a certain point, I knew God's will. I already had direction as the church that I was going to go to, but I didn't know who was God's will. And in my ignorance, I'm just going to tell you what kind of a knuckleheaded male that I was. I got to a certain point where I had become friends with an awful lot of girls. And frankly, I loved the setting of Bob Jones University. where I can be friends with people and spend time with girls. You see, I'm the oldest of three boys. I don't understand girls at all. And as the oldest of the three boys, I've enjoyed some of the friendships and the relationships. And I got to a certain point in my senior year that said, you know, all of these girls kind of seem the same. I mean, if I just find a girl who loves the Lord and they all seem the same, maybe I just need to pick one and go with it. Man, that was ignorance. Because a little later in that year, I met Nancy. And when I met Nancy and went out with Nancy, I kind of came to a realization, whoo, they are not all the same. And early, early on in that relationship, I just felt like this is God's will. This is what God has provided for me. And I'm trusting in that. I was walking in his moral will. I was trusting his sovereign will, but I also understood the will of God personally is something he's gonna lead and direct. But Nancy was only a sophomore. And so she wasn't quite as ready to commit and be involved in this relationship. Yeah, she cared for me, but she was still doing other things. And so we came to Bible conference. Do they still call Bible conferences drop-add week at Bob Jones? Drop-add week means you drop one relationship and add another one. Well, I got dropped. When I got dropped just before a Bible conference, man, I was confident in God's moral will. I'm walking in obedience. I'm confident in His sovereign will. I'm going to serve the Lord no matter what. And I hope that it's with Nancy, but if it's not with Nancy, God must have something else in store. And as a result, even though I got dropped, I had a confidence in the will of God that His personal will for me was going to be accomplished. Young men, you just need to know something. There's something attractive to Christian young ladies about a young man who trusts in the Lord with all of his heart and doesn't lean on his own understanding. Instead of manipulating her and saying, wait a second, God told me that you, well, girls, if a young man comes and says that he knows that you're his will, that you're God's will for his life, that's a pretty good indication that you should probably keep looking. So I didn't get manipulative and tell her all why she should be in God's will. I didn't kind of get to the point where I threatened to harm myself and act all pathetic. Instead, I got to a point where I said, you know what? God is directing me, God's gonna provide for me. And if you're not the one for me, there's gonna be someone even better and I'm okay with that. And as a result, Nancy came running right back to me. All right, that's just a little bit of an exaggeration. It took a little bit of a time, but you know, she was able to figure time and God directed and guided and worked those things out. And for those of you who are so worked up and anxious about God's will, what is God's will? Who is God's will? Understand and know this. that the Spirit of God knows you better than you know yourself, and He has a plan and a purpose for you, and He has a plan toward good and not harm. And that's why we can be confident not only in what we don't know, but we can also be comforted and confident in what we do know. We do know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. I'm now in verse 28. And what we do know is not just some sort of, oh, optimistic thought that, well, there's the yin and the yang, there's the good and the bad. You just kind of have to take things and it's all going to work together for good. Too many of us have been in those moments where someone will come just with a positive attitude in our time of grief or sorrow, and they say, all things work together for good, and we just want to punch them right in the mouth, right? But that is not what this passage is saying, is that you just be blindly optimistic. Instead, it's giving to us five affirmations of who God is, five convictions that are found. John R. W. Stott is probably my favorite commentator on the book of Romans. He wrote many, many good things. But in this passage, he describes five unshakable convictions. Those five unshakable convictions are followed by five undeniable affirmations, and the undeniable affirmations are whom he foreknew, number one. He did predestinate, number two. Whom he predestinated, he called, number three. Whom he called, he justified, number four. Whom he justified, he glorified, number five. Those are the five undeniable affirmations. Those five are followed by five undeniable affirmations. Well, we're going to call them this. We're going to call them five unconceivable questions. The five questions are these. If God is for us, who can be against us? It's inconceivable that someone could be against us if God is for us. The second question is, he who already gave up his son, will he not freely give us all other good things? It's inconceivable the one who gave us his son wouldn't also freely give us all things. The next question is, is it God who justifies? Who shall lay anything as a charge against God's elect? It's inconceivable that anyone could bring a charge against God's elect when God justifies us. The fourth question is found in verse 34. Who is he who condemns? We're already established. There's no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. It's inconceivable, this question. God is on our side. And then this great question. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Is there anything that can separate us? My friends, it's inconceivable. Nothing can separate us. But before we get to five questions, before we get to five affirmations, we have to come to five unshakable convictions. And the five unshakable convictions are all found in verse 28. We do know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. And the first affirmation, the first conviction is God is at work. You see, there's a subject to this verse. The subject isn't that just somehow things work together and that there's the good and the bad. No, it's telling us that God is at work. Jesus said, my father is always at work and so I also work. And here's what you need to know today, my friend, in your condition. You may not know the purpose, you may not know what's taking place, but you can know this, God is at work. And God is using all of His infinite wisdom and all of His infinite power to be at work in your life. See, we don't believe like a deist would believe, that somehow God gets all of this started, it all operates according to His laws and principles and what takes place, and that really you are now in control of your own life. We don't believe that God is distant and removed. We believe that God is at work. Thank you for the amen back here. And because we believe that God is at work, I'm gonna ask everyone to affirm with us a conviction, God is at work, say amen. Amen. But not only are we convinced that God is at work, we are also convinced that God is at work for good. To say that God is at work for good, it means that he wants what is best for us. The Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord would give grace and glory, no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. The goodness of God is a demonstration that He wants what is best for us. He tells us, I know the plans that I have for you, not for evil, but for good. He wants what is best for your life. And if I know that God is at work for good, I can recognize that even difficult circumstances is God at work for good in my life. Exhibit A. Joseph had a promise and anticipation that God was going to do great things in his life, that his family would bow down before him. But all of those dreams were shattered when his own brothers wanted to kill him. They threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery, and he gets carried away from the promised land and his father all the way down into Egypt. When he gets down into Egypt, instead of being all hopeless and filled with despair, he immediately goes to work for a man named Potiphar. He rises to a high level, and even in Potiphar's house, he was falsely accused by a woman. Here's a man who's living according to his morality, his integrity. He's a man who is fearing God and walking with Him, but he gets falsely accused, and as a result, thrown into prison. As he's thrown into prison, instead of losing heart and despairing instead, he thrives. He looks out for other people and asks of their interests and is soon trusted and rises to prominence within that position. And yet, even after serving other people, he's forgotten for numbers of years. Eventually, God works through all of those things for good. God used all of those things to get Joseph exactly where he wanted him to be at exactly the right time to where he rises up to be the second in command over all Egypt. And it wasn't just so that he could have a position of prestige, but God gave him that place so that his brothers, his nation, God's promises to Abraham could be fulfilled. And instead of a nation being destroyed, God, brought that man, for such a time as this, God brought that man to a place where he could be useful and serve God. God was at work for good. When it came to the end of his life and his brothers come shaking in their knees before him, and they say, Dad is dead now, but we're begging you, please don't kill us. He says, you meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. My friends, God is at work for good. And I'm talking to people today who I don't know. I don't know how to sensitively enter in to the horrible things that you have experienced at the hand of other people. I don't understand the abuse. I do know this. that a just God is the one who has already taken note of that. And for those of you who have been harmed, especially abused as children, just know that it's better for a man to have a millstone put around his neck and to be cast into the sea rather than to harm one of God's children. And there is a just God who sees and cares, and He is not blindly. And I'm not coming to you and just saying, hey, it's all gonna work out for good. I am gonna tell you that what others meant for evil, God is able to turn and use for good. And because God is at work, and because God is at work for good, we can trust Him. My friends, God is at work, amen? And God is at work for the good, amen? God is at work for the good in all things. Within this passage, we have the conviction that God is at work in all things for good. That means that He's at work in suffering for good. That means that He's at work in evil when other people mean evil against me. That means that satanic opposition and spiritual warfare, that God is at work for good. Remember this. Remember this. that there was a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. And the same messenger of Satan that came to the apostle Paul was the one that God was using to buffet him, to humble him, to accomplish God's purpose in him. And when you are most being spiritually attacked, understand and know the greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. Hallelujah. And as a result, my God is in control of all things and he's using all of those things. He's using confusion. He's using division. He's using heartache and disappointment. He's using all things that work for good. God is at work, amen. God is at work for good, amen. God is at work for good in all things, but this isn't just some sort of blind hope. Instead, this is God not seeking good for anyone and everyone. Instead it says, God is at work in all things for good to those who love Him. Ah, now we're in a little bit of a different place. It could be that for you, there's a chastening. It could be that for you, there's some sort of disciplining by which God is at work and he's trying to draw you to himself. And the suffering and the hardship that you're facing is where God is now coming and saying, love me, follow me, serve me, trust me, believe in me, come to salvation. And if all of your suffering is because you are not walking with the Lord and not trusting in Him, then let me tell you, there is no comfort in this verse for you. The comfort is for those who love Him, but at the same time, there is no merit for us who love Him. Come on, this is easy. We love Him because He first loved us. And let me remind you something, that if we do love God, the reason we love God is because the righteous requirements of the law are being fulfilled. by those who walk in His Spirit. It's a work of His Spirit that's producing this. And so we love God, and if we love God, we know He is at work, that He is at work for good, that He's at work in all things, and that He is at work in all things for good to those who love Him. And finally, to those who are called according to His purpose. The called according to His purpose is expanded upon when He says that whom He foreknew, He predestinated. Whom He predestinated, He called. He called us to what? He called us that we might be conformed to the image of His Son. The called are those who have not just heard that general call that says, whosoever will may come, but it's the effectual call of those who have listened to a summons by which he called us and intimately drew us to himself and he granted us life. And now his calling to us is that he wants us to conform us to the image of his son. His calling, his calling is not for Jeff Anderson to just continue in a secure position in his hometown. Let me tell you something, man. For me to pastor Grace Bible Church in Colorado Springs was the sweetest gig that anyone has ever received. It's my hometown. I went to high school in this town. I love that place. I was able to get to know a bunch of the pastors and the people there. My children were born, every child was born into Grace Bible Church. My wife and I started at Grace Bible Church when we were only two weeks married. It was the greatest thing ever. I told people at our church it would take dynamite to blow me out of Grace Bible Church. And I always knew in the back of my mind, maybe someday there's going to be dynamite. I didn't know that I'd contribute to it, that I would light the fuse, that I would be someone who would do something that would kind of contribute to the circumstances that would come. But I did know that God made it very clear. I haven't called you to just live in comfort. security. Instead, I have a plan and a purpose for you." And he called. And as he calls and says, I want you to leave Grace Bible Church, and I want you to now pastor indigenous pastors. I want you to be part of exposing them to expository preaching and sound doctrine. I want you to help confront the falsehood of prosperity gospel and signs and wonders and so many bad things that are especially in Africa. And Jeff, I want you, I'm gonna give you an opportunity. You're gonna be able to expose tens of thousands of pastors to expository preaching and sound doctrine." And I look at that and I say, but God, how? I don't have a network of people. I don't have a database of donors. I don't have any rich friends who'll be able to fund all of this. I don't even know where my paychecks are gonna come from in all of this. But I have to ask a simple question. This is a question that the Lord asked me, Jeff, you've been preaching that faithful is he who calls you who will do it, but do you believe it? And for me, I come to the place where I say, yes, Lord, I do believe. I do believe with all of my heart that all things work together for good to those who love you and are the called according to your purpose and where you call, where you lead, Lord, I will follow. because your purpose is not my security. Your purpose is not my comfort. Your purpose, Lord, is my conformity to the image of Christ. No matter what the tribulation or trial or failure or disappointment that may come, I may not know what I should pray for as I ought, but I do know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. There's an awful lot of Romans 8 that I wasn't able to address, and I'd love you to see it in a little bit more detail. This book, Life in the Spirit, is an exposition of Romans 8, and I have about $10 invested in it, so we need to sell it for $10, but at the same time, if you have to make a smaller contribution, that's just fine, and if you don't have anything, You just want to take it, I want you to have it. It's available over at Rodeheaver in the book display that is there. And you'll be able to find my girls that are there helping distribute it. And if you would like to contribute, that's fine. If you just want to take it, I want you to have it because I want you to just be blessed by the ministry of the spirit and the life of those who've been born again. Let's bow together, please, and pray. Lord, we are so grateful for the work of your word in our life. I thank you. for this conference this week that has instilled a confidence that what you have said from Genesis 1-1 all the way through your book, that we can have confident expectation in the history that you have granted, but Lord, we can also have confident expectation in the promises that you have given. We have confident expectation in your character. And Lord, you don't ask us to know. You don't ask us to be wise. You don't ask us to have all insight. Instead, you ask us to trust in you with all of our heart and not lean on our own understanding. And for some of these men and women, the students that are here, they're going through times that they don't understand. And Lord, in that, I pray that you would comfort them in what they don't know with the fact that you pray for them, that you love them, that you're intimately invested in them. I pray that they would also find comfort in what they can know, and that is that you are at work in their life, that you're at work for good, and that you're at work in all of these things for good. Lord, help us to love you. Help us to remember that we are your called ones. It's not only students, Lord, that need to be reminded of this, it's pastors, pastor friends that I've been visiting with, many of whom, no, all of whom who have gone through disappointment and heartache and difficulty. All of them have had failure. All of them have had conflict and sometimes felt betrayed. All of us, Lord, have had troubles that we've even brought upon ourself. And I pray for pastors and pastors' wives today that you will comfort us in what we don't know, but also comfort us in what we do know. I pray for staff members. I pray for those who are going through whatever trials and difficulties that they may face. Oh Lord, comfort us. Give us hope. Give us the hope that not only are you big and powerful, but Lord, you are near to us. We bless you and we praise you in Jesus' name.