Pray for the Lord to come. Amen. And looking forward to that. Turn in your Bibles this morning. Romans chapter number 3. Romans chapter number 3. We've been looking at some of the great words of the Bible. I believe they're foundational to our faith. When you and I can understand some of the great Bible terms, it helps us to have a greater understanding of what God's done for us. Too often people will say, well, I've already been saved, so I don't need that. I don't need to understand that. I know I'm going to go to heaven. Well, the fact is that when you and I get saved, we get the total package, alright? And we need to unwrap the gift and understand everything that's involved in it. And when we understand some of these great truths, it helps us to appreciate what the Lord's done for us even more and then it is a great motivation for us to share what others can have, what they can experience when they come to know the Lord. It helps us to be better witnesses and soul winners for the Savior. And if you look in verse number 24 and the text verse will come up on your screen, I believe it will. Romans 3 verse 24, "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Now, there's two other Bible words that we've looked at already. Grace, the sweetest word in the Bible, and then redemption, the costliest word in the Bible, and then this word justified, which we've understood to be the most fascinating word in the Bible. and you're going to find that justification is an outflow of redemption. Apart from the work of Christ on the cross, you and I could never be justified. You see, sin has to be paid for. In order for somebody to not be guilty, friend, the problem has to be dealt with and the redemption took care of the problem. And the bridge that connects Justification and redemption is grace. Friend, listen, if it wasn't for the grace of God, we couldn't experience any of it. And so we want to look again this morning at this word justified. We found that the word justified occurs nine times in the book of Romans. Four times in chapter number 3 here in Romans chapter 3. And we learned that the word justified is a courtroom concept. It's a legal term used in a court of law. It's used today in a court of law. To be justified is the opposite of being condemned. You know, we don't have to wait till one day we get out an attorney to find out whether or not we're condemned or not condemned. The Bible says if we've never been justified, then we're condemned already. Do you know that every man, woman, boy, and girl is in a state of condemnation unless they've been declared justified by God? That means, friend, if you're not sure you're saved, if you're not sure you've been justified, you don't have to wait to see if you're condemned. God said you're already condemned. And we need to be justified. Notice he goes on to say that to be condemned, and when we talk about this word justified, we want to go on and understand that to be condemned is to be declared guilty. To be justified is to be declared not guilty or righteous or right before God. And so justification, this word justified, is the free and gracious act by which God declares the believing sinner right with himself. You see, for 17 years of my life I was wrong with God. I was in a state of condemnation. Friend, I didn't have any hope of heaven and then there came a time in my life when I understood that Jesus had paid the price for my salvation and by grace I could be saved through faith and I believed on the Lord. And that moment, friend, the gavel fell in heaven and the righteous judge of the universe said of Kevin Broil, not guilty. He's justified. Friend, listen, that ought to rejoice your heart right now. If there's been a time in your life, if there's been a moment that you called on the Lord in faith, you believed on Him and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, friend, the gavel of heaven fell in your life and God declared you right with Himself. Friend, there's nothing like being right with God. It's at that moment that we're forgiven, pardoned, restored. We're accepted in Christ upon the basis of our faith in Him alone and His work at Calvary. And we learn some facts of justification. And we understood last week that the law cannot save a person. The Bible says multiple times, if you'll look again, please, in verse number Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith and that it's apart from the law. Look over at verse 20 of Romans chapter 3. Therefore by the deeds of the law, by the good things we do, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. See, my good things can't cancel out my bad things. No, they've got to be paid for. They've got to be taken care of, and that's taken care of through the work of Christ on the cross. So the law. Good things can't save me. Religion. Listen, friend, we're not peddling religion. We're offering people a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. So the law can't save you, but the Lord can. Isn't that a blessing today? Aren't you glad people can be saved today? And the Lord is the one who saves them. And we learn that it was individual. Look at verse 28. Therefore we conclude that a man... I can't be justified for you. You can't be justified for me. I can't be justified for my children. You can't be justified for your children, your grandchildren, your neighbor, your friend. No, it is an individual matter. Every person must individually come to God for themselves. Friend, if you've never come to the Lord, you need to do that today. And then when we come to Him, not only is it individual, but it's instantaneous. Notice the Bible says verse 28, "...is justified by faith." Isn't that a blessing? Without or apart from the deeds of the law. We're instantaneously... Listen, we don't have to wait. Listen, we go from a state of being condemned to not condemned, to being guilty, to suddenly to be acquitted. Even more than that, to be justified. It's just as if I'd never sinned. Can you imagine that? That God takes wicked sinners, saves them, justifies them. And friend, it's as if they've never ever sinned at all. Friend, listen, it's not that I have a record in heaven that's been pardoned. Oh no, it's greater than that. I don't even have a record in heaven. And friend, if you're saved today, neither do you. And the good news is Romans 8.1, you can jot it down, it's irreversible. Friend, once you've been declared justified before God, once you and I are a person has been declared not guilty, once we've been declared not condemned, can I tell you the Bible said there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Listen, that day that we're justified by God and God declares us right before Him, we can never, ever, ever be condemned again. Listen, if God be for you, who can be against you? It's God that justifies us. Friend, listen. What a wonderful truth that is. But then not only are there the facts of justification, could I turn you over a couple chapters to chapter number 5 and we want to see the fruits of justification. See, we want to keep unpacking the gift. We want to see just how much that God's done for us, and now we're going to see the fruit of the fact. Once the person's justified, what flows out of that matter of being right with God? Look at Romans 5 and verse 1. The Bible said therefore. Remember I mentioned a while back that anytime you see a therefore or a wherefore in the Bible, you need to stop and see what it's there for. And usually it's another connector word. It's something that's connecting what he's getting ready to say to what God's already said in that particular book. And so for the last four chapters, God has been telling us about this great fact of being justified and how to be right with Him. He talks about our sin and He talks about His salvation. And then once the person's saved, then God takes them another step and He tells us about what's happened in our lives and what we possess as the fruit of that matter of being justified. What comes to a person who has placed their faith in Christ for salvation and they've been justified in that that flows out of the river of justification. Notice he says, therefore being justified by faith. Friend, that is the only way a person can be justified is by faith. But watch these next two words. Therefore being justified by faith we have. Friend, that's a present possession. It's not, I'm going to get it. No, I have it. He said, Paul sang here under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Friend, when we've been justified by faith we have something. Well, what do I have? Look what he says. I have a peace that cannot be disturbed. Notice the Bible says that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you realize that one of the fruits of justification is a peace that cannot be disturbed? Do you realize that peace is one of the most elusive treasures known to mankind? People are on this quest for peace. There is a restlessness. There is an unsettledness in the heart of every individual. Individuals are forever searching for a way to fill the void. to find inner peace that will satisfy the craving of their heart. During this recent pandemic and these stay-home orders, do you realize that on the national news they said that alcohol sales in America have increased by over 50%? Do you realize that drug addiction is on the rise? Do you realize that pornography, because people have time and they're restless and they're looking for something to fill a void, pornography is on the rise and escalating even further in our land. And friend, listen, what it is is people, when it comes to alcohol, they're trying to find peace in a bottle rather than in the Bible. And friend, let me just tell you, people get the idea because of this unsettledness, if I can just have this person, or I can go to that place, or I can experience this, or I can go there, I can have that house, or that piece of land, or that car, I would be happy. Friend, happiness is not the problem. Peace is the problem. You see, they're looking for peace. That's really that inward restlessness, that hole, that void that's inside of them that only God can fill. And they're out there seeking to fill it in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways and they come up empty and unsatisfied and broken and disillusioned. Can I just remind us this morning that peace is not found in a place. It's not found in a possession. It's not found in a position. It's not found in other people. People cannot bring peace. It's not in a meditative program. It's found in a person and his name is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2.14, the Bible said, He is our peace. And friend, the Bible says the moment that you and I are justified by faith, that at that moment we now have peace with God, the emptiness of my heart is filled. Friend, listen, God comes inside of us. Listen, that part that He's created within us and only He can fill. Friend, He comes to fill that void and He satisfies us and He brings peace to our lives. because of a right relationship with Him. Romans 5, 10. Look down at verse number 10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. That God's continuing to work in our lives even from the moment of salvation. But I want you to notice that word enemies. Do you realize that there was a time that we were enemies of God? And friend, if you're not saved, God said that you're at war with Him in your heart. It's a battle for the control of our lives. Up until the moment of salvation, we were resisting Him and rebelling against Him and going our way rather than His way. Friend, listen. Maybe that's you this morning. Maybe there's no peace in your heart because you're battling with God and you're resisting God and you've been rebelling against God and you need to throw up the white flag of surrender. You see, the reason there's no peace in people's hearts is because they're at war with God. Isaiah 57 verse 21, 21 says, But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked. Listen friend, there is no peace. to the person who's apart from Jesus Christ. There is no peace to the person who is apart from God. And the Bible said that we're at war with God and therefore there's a troubledness. It's like the troubled ocean waters just constantly stirring inside of us. And you know what? The Bible said that what happens is when we come to the Lord, we're reconciled to God. That's another great Bible word. It means to be brought at one again. It means to be brought together. Two parties that were separated brought together. And let me just tell you, friend, the problem's never been on God's side. It's always been on our side. and we've been reconciled or brought back into a right relationship with God by the death of His Son. You see, He removed the enmity that separated us from God. And you say, preacher, what was that? It's called sin. I'm reminded of the great, great song, It is well with my soul, and the words, My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. You see, the moment you and I throw up the white flag of surrender, the moment we repent of our sin and we trust the Lord Jesus as Savior, we change our mind. That's what that great Bible word repent means. I change my mind. You see, before I was at war with God, now I want peace with God. Where before I was rejecting God, now I'm receiving Christ. You see the difference? It's a change of mind. that leads to faith in Jesus Christ and we trust Him and Him alone. It's not what I can do, but it's what He did. The Bible says at that moment we have peace with God. I'm thankful that as the children of God, now listen to this, here's the fruit, as the children of God we can pillow our heads at night with the inner peace that it's well with our soul. You can face a pandemic with the inner peace. It's well with your soul. You can face cancer. You can face trials. You can face tribulation. You can face difficulty. We can face the future because it's well with our soul. You see, the peace of Romans 5 is a judicial peace. It is a fact. It is a positional peace. It's something that I have. I don't have to feel it. Thank God for when I do. I don't have to feel it. I don't have to wonder about it. I don't have to question it. God said it's just a fact. It's a fruit of justification. But the good news is that judicial peace leads to personal peace. The position of peace leads to the practice or the practical experience of peace. Jot down in your notes Isaiah 32 verse 17. This is a verse every Christian ought to know. Isaiah 32, 17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace. and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever." How long does this peace last, preacher? It lasts forever. Philippians 4, 7, I shared this in the devotion on Friday, "...and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. That word keep means to guard, it means to protect, it means to quiet. It speaks of the inner peace and tranquility of heart that comes to those who know the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who are yielding their lives to Him. And friend, it's the blessedness of being able to know that we're right with God, and then because we're right with Him, Everything's alright. He's going to take care of the circumstances and situations of my life. David captured that when he said, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack. I'm not going to lack. God's in control. I've said it many times. Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus. Psalm 91.1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Now let me just contrast or let me talk to you about the difference between judicial peace and what we understand personal or the practical peace that flows out of that fact of peace that we have. So first of all, salvation, my positional peace. We have peace. That means I'm no longer at war with God. That means that I have a right relationship with God. I've thrown up the white flag of surrender. I've been reconciled to Him through justification. I have the fact of peace. I never have to worry about it. I don't have to question it. Eternal life is secure in Jesus Christ for in my future is as bright as the promise of God. Listen, once I have the peace of God... Now watch this. Once I have it, I can never not have it when it comes to being right with God. Now, does that mean I always experience peace on the inside? No, it doesn't. That's the personal peace. That's the practical experience of peace. Now while the peace with God, it never fluctuates, it never changes, the peace of God can change. Because that is a practical peace. That's what I live out in my everyday life. And that is the peace that passeth all understanding. That's the peace of calm assurance resting in the Lord. That's the one that anxiety can disturb. But it doesn't have to disturb it. That's the one that fear can cause to flee. But it doesn't have to flee. I can have it. Why? Because it's mine. It's my birthright. But how do I have that? It's by dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. It's abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. When I dwell in His presence and I abide in His shadow, the protective care of my God. For in the peace that I have with God leads to the peace of God that gives me an inner calm in life that I experience and for in many times it can be felt. Charles Wesley, he caught it in these words. He said, I rest beneath the almighty shade. My griefs expire, my troubles cease. Thou, Lord, on whom my soul has stayed, will keep me still in perfect peace. Friend, listen. What you and I need to do is look away from the trouble around us and look up to the God who is for us. We need to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Because we've been made right with God, we can dwell in the secret place of the Most High. How's your walk with God? How's your personal time with God? Are you abiding under the shadow of the Almighty? Friend, listen, that's the difference between anxiety and peace. We have a peace that cannot be disturbed. Notice next, we have an access that cannot be denied. Look if you would please in verse number 2. by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." Did you see that? "...by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." Now, Romans chapter 5, while we're going to talk about the practical aspect, is also very positional. Remember, position never changes. I have peace with God. Never changes. For once God has declared me right with Himself, that state of being before God never changes. But my practical experience of how I live my daily life, that does fluctuate or change, but my relationship with God never changes. See, one is relationship, the other is fellowship, and there's a difference. Relationship can't change. That's peace with God. Fellowship can change. There's where the peace of God comes in. But God said, I have access. That means I have instant access to God. That word access means a bringing in. It's an introduction or entrance into His presence. This grace here in verse 2 is the privilege of being accepted by God and the enjoyment of our relationship with Him. Through Jesus Christ, friend, we have more than just access to a king. We have an audience with the king. I can enter the very throne room of God. Can you imagine that? Do you realize, dear child of God, when you and I get into the secret place of the Almighty that we're in the very presence, the very throne room of God Himself? We enter into that place spiritually. Very real sense. John Phillips in his commentary on Romans caught the essence of this matter of access and he told the story. He said a little boy once stood outside the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, England. He wanted to talk to the king, but he had been sternly repulsed by the guard at the gate. He rubbed his grimy hand to his cheek and wiped away a tear. And just then along came a well-dressed man who asked the little boy what was going on. Why was he crying? Why was he so upset? What's your trouble, son? When he heard this story, the man smiled and said, Here, take my hand, son. And at that moment, he said, I'll get you in. You just never mind those old soldiers that turned you away. And the little boy took the offered hand of that man, and to his surprise, he saw the soldiers leap to attention and present arms as his newfound friend approached the gates. Suddenly, the gates opened. They went past the guards. They entered the palace. They were along the carpeted hallways, through wide-flung doors, and through a glittering throng right up to the very throne of the king of England himself. while that young boy had taken hand of the prince of Wales, the king's son. And through him he had gained access. And I just want to tell you, over 35 years ago, I took hold of the king's son. And friend, listen, he leads me into the presence of the Father. And we can enjoy fellowship with God and we can walk with Him and know Him and talk to Him. Aren't you glad today? Friend, listen, that here on earth we can experience joy in our hearts as we enter the throne room of God in prayer, talking to the Father and being fellowship with the King. Friend, listen, I just want to tell you, we're not one of the king's subjects. Even better than that, we're one of the king's sons. You know, the glory of all this, this is not just a one-time privilege, it's an all-the-time privilege. Notice that word, stand, in verse number 2. That's my right of access. Friend, listen, we can stand in His presence. That means at any time, about anything, from anywhere, I can have an audience with the God of heaven because the God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, this God who is sovereign over all the universe, Heavenly Father. And friend, if you've been justified today, He's your Heavenly Father. I have a peace that cannot be disturbed. I've got an access that cannot be denied. Friend, we come in the name of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and notice next we have a hope that cannot be defeated. Look at verse number 3. And not only so, isn't it amazing how it just builds? It just gets better and better. One guy said it gets gooder and gooder. I'm not sure if that's good English, but that sure is good theology, isn't it? He said, not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. Preacher, what's God doing right now in our world? What's God doing in this situation? What's God doing in my life? How in the world can I know what God's doing? Friend, listen, you and I, we don't have all of the details of the sovereign plan of heaven, do we? I don't have all the answers and you don't have all the answers. Well, it's amazing. Sometimes we get up and we say, well, God's doing this. Well, we don't know what God's doing. But I can tell you from the Scriptures one thing that God's doing. You say, preacher, what's He doing? He's at work in our lives. You see, just because we're saved doesn't make us immune to trouble. We still live in a broken world and I've said this many times. As long as we're on this side of heaven, we're going to have problems. We are. We're going to face difficulty. Unsaved people have problems. Saved people have problems. We all have problems. Now sometimes our problems are different from theirs. I understand that. I'm glad that I don't have the same problems I used to have before I got saved. I'm grateful for that. But let me tell you the difference between a saved person and an unsaved person when it comes to problems. You say, Preacher, what is it? The saved person has hope. The unsaved person doesn't have hope. Matter of fact, that would be a good emoji point. That would be a good hallelujah if you don't have emojis in your live stream. Just stop and say amen. Just stop and say thank you, Lord. Just stop and say, God, I'm so glad I have hope today. Because friend, if you know Jesus Christ, you have hope this morning. during the difficult times of life, God doesn't just want us to survive. God's not wanting you just to survive this situation, this ordeal. He wants us to thrive in it. I want you to look at this word glory in verse 3. It's a little different than the word up in verse 2 that we'll look at again in a moment. But not only so, but we glory. That means we rejoice in tribulations also. knowing that tribulation worketh patience." James 1, verse 2. That's a good verse to write down in my Bible beside this verse. That's sort of what I would understand as a cross-reference. If I was cross-referencing Scripture, I would add that one in there. James puts it this way. He says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations. Here's what he's saying. That when you and I encounter the difficult times of life, we can rejoice. He didn't say that we're going to laugh or we're going to just be happy on the mountaintop because we're having problems. That's not what he's saying. He's saying we can rejoice, we can have joy in the fact of our different kinds of problems because we understand we know something. Alright? That doesn't mean that every trial in my life is something going to make me happy. But God said I can have joy in the midst of it. I can rejoice in that trial because number one, I'm not facing it alone. Do you realize if somebody said, well, the fellow got saved and then he got cancer. Almost that, you know, well God saved him and then he got cancer. Look what happened to him. Well, he didn't get cancer because he got saved. He's going to get cancer anyway. See, one day we're all going to have something that's going to take us from this life apart from Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean everybody that has cancer is going to lose their life. It doesn't mean that. Many times they survive that and live through it. But he got cancer as if that was a negative. No, that was going to come anyway. The good news is that he's not facing cancer alone. or he's not facing financial difficulty alone, or job loss alone, or family problems alone, or whatever the problem might be. I'm not facing it alone. I have someone going with it through me. He's there with me and is at work in my life. Notice there's a process in verse number 3. You see, everybody has problems. But God said for the child of God, I have purpose for your problems. I'm working in them. God is not the cause of all our problems. Many times we're like, what now God? What now? And we become bitter. We become angry. We become resistant rather than this was going to come. God, instead of saying what now or why now or lashing out at God, why don't we submit to the Lord and say, okay God, what do you want me to learn in my life? How do you want to guide me? How do you want to direct me? It's good to know that God is at work in my life through problems and trials because God has a plan in my life and He's using these things. He doesn't cause them all, but He uses them to bring about a desired end in my life. Let's look at it individually. Tribulation. That speaks of the pressures and the problems of life. That word tribulation comes from a Roman word tribulum. It was a large metal farming instrument that was used by farmers to be pulled by oxen across the wheat. And the purpose of that threshing instrument was to separate the kernel of grain from the outer outer hull of the chaff and it was separating the wheat from the chaff, that hull. And then they would come in and they would take a shovel. Sometimes it would just be a hand tool that they would use on the threshing floor. And they would bring that and they would pull it through that grain and they would hit that grain. It would thresh it. No doubt, I'd say if the grain can talk, it wasn't enjoying it. It went, boy, it missed the life. No, it was probably hurt. It was probably difficult if you think of it in that terminology. And that's sort of what God's saying. When problems come into our life, it's like that wheat being thrashed and thrashed about so that you can separate that grain, that kernel from that chaff. And then they take a sort of a winnow. They call it a winnowing process. It's a fan. It's like a flat shovel, a wooden shovel. And they would put it underneath that and on that threshing floor it was open. It wasn't like a closed barn. And they would take that and they would throw the wheat up in there and there's always a breeze in the Middle East. When I was over there, constantly a breeze. And they would throw that up and the breeze, the wind, would blow the chaff away and the heavier kernels of wheat would fall back to the ground. It was a process. And when problems come into our lives, understand that it's not just something that's happening to me. It's not just some kind of thing that is just going on in my life that has no rhyme or reason. No, God said it's all part of a purpose. I'm at work through this. Listen to Luke 22, 31. Satan wants to sift us. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, can you imagine here we're facing difficulty, the disciples face difficulty, the Lord was going away. And he looked at his disciples and he pointed out to Simon, he said, Simon, Simon, Satan had desired to have you. He addressed Simon, but he's actually talking to all of them, that you is plural, that he may sift you as wheat. He wants to sift you. You see, this sifting process takes place in our lives. That's the tribulation, the tribulum idea we're talking about. And so through the situations of life and what Satan's trying to do through this thing that's come into our lives, he's sifting us in order to break us and discourage us and make us bitter at life. But friend, God takes the same problems of life and He sifts us in order to build us and to make us better in life. As your pastor, I know that many of you are hurting. Just pull the pandemic away and you've got trials in your own personal life that you're battling. Can I tell you that God says your problems are not without purpose. They're not without rhyme or reason. God said, I'm at work in your life through these problems and I'm using them to bring something about. They were going to come many times anyway in our lives. It's part of the life journey. But God said, it's not like it's without purpose. We don't hurt without purpose, God says, as His children. He's at work. Tribulation worketh or brings about patience." You see, God's going to test our faith in order to grow our faith. With the trials of life come the testings of life. Whenever we face the difficult times of life, God is at work building patience, endurance within us. Patience is the tenacity of heart to keep going even when things get tough. You know what? They're Christians right now. You're ready to throw in the towel. There's people right now that are saved that are about ready to give up. What's the point? What's the use? Can't go to church, can't work, have to stay at home, can't do this, can't do that, can't do the other. And what we've done is we're focusing so much on what we can't do that we haven't focused on what we can do. If we're not careful, we'll let Satan so blind our eyes to the blessings of God. If we're not careful, we'll get bitter at God. And we'll say, what's the use? And what God's saying is, I want you to press on. I want you to bear up. That's what that word patience means. Listen, you can have instant spirituality, but you'll never have instant maturity. It takes time. And God is working through the situations. Notice He says that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience. That word experience means character. It means maturity. And so it takes time. And friend, it takes tenacity. It takes the determination that God, no matter what comes my way, You're good to me. You're at work in my life. You're building me. You're growing me. These were going to come into my life, but You're going with me through this. And God, I want You to enable me to go on for You. Be strong in the Lord, the power of His might. It builds endurance in our lives. That's why God compares us to soldiers. Winston Churchill talked about a bulldog and the reason he liked a bulldog, he said, because it has its nose slanted backwards so that in a fight he can bite and hang on and still keep on breathing. And what some of us need to do right now is we're facing a problem and we're battling an issue and we just need to bite, hang on, and keep breathing because we'll get to the other side. Amen? Notice this word experience. God is in the business of building saints. Troubles, trials were part of the process. We're learning that from this passage. See, because we're justified, God's saying that my problems are not without purpose. Suddenly, once I become a Christian, my problems that are going to come into my life now that I'm saved have purpose. God is at work. And we've all learned that we learn much more in the valley than we do on the mountaintops of life. And salvation is not the end of God's working in our life. It's not an end in itself. It is the beginning. No, God has a goal. He's got a purpose. He's got a plan. And He sees the finished product. I want you to look over at Romans 8. Would you do that? Look over at Romans 8. I want to show you what God's doing. Preacher, what's God doing right now? I can tell you one thing I know that He's doing in every Christian's life. Look if you would. Verse number 28 of Romans 8. The promise. Here's the promise. We could call it the promise of justification. Because I'm justified, I can claim this promise. Look at verse 28. And we know, I can be assured of, that all things, the good, the bad, the bitter, the sweet, the ups, the downs, the things I like, the things I don't like, and we know that all things work together for good. It didn't say everything was going to be good. There's things that's going on right now that we're not going to say is good. But God said, I can take all these things and work them together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to, watch this, His purpose. Look at verse 29. For whom He did foreknow. Here's some more big Bible words. That word foreknow, that means to know beforehand. He also did predestinate. Not heaven or hell. We're predestinated to holiness. Okay? Here's the destiny of every child of God. Predestination of the Bible has nothing to do with the unsaved. It has everything to do with the saved. God has destined beforehand that every man, woman, boy and girl who believes on His Son is going to reach the destination of verse number 29. What is it, preacher? To be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. You know what He's saying in this verse? That my destiny for every one of you is to be like my Son Jesus Christ. Friend, what a majestic destiny. What a wonderful future. God sees the finished product. Somebody said the road maturity is paved with struggle. It's paved with struggle. Somebody said a diamond is a lump of coal put under pressure. Friend, we're just lumps of coal. God allows us to come under pressure, but I'm telling you, there's going to be a jewel, a gem that comes out of it. One day, friend, we're going to be what God wants us to be. Isn't that a blessed thing? And then notice this, I'm going to close, I'm going to come back tonight and finish the message. I'm going to close with hope. Look what he says, verse 4. And patience, experience, and experience hope. Dear child of God, if I can't leave you with anything else this morning, if you've been justified this morning, you have a hope that cannot be defeated. Did you know that? You're a winner. We sang that this morning. I didn't know we were going to sing that as I was preparing this message. The winning side. Or if I did, no, I didn't remember. The winning side. I remembered it right the moment it came up for you. Alright? The winning side. I just want to tell you, dear child of God, when you read that word hope, that just tells you right now you're on the winning side. You're on the winning side. An assured hope, a confident hope. It's hope with an exclamation mark. Don't you like that? You can just go right in there and put an exclamation point right there. Friend, listen, never put a question mark where God puts a period or an exclamation mark. As you and I face the struggles of life, we have hope, we have confidence because we know from experience that the God who was faithful in the past is faithful in the present and will be faithful in the future. God will never fail us. Friend, we have hope. Aren't you glad that if life never got better? Now, I believe it will. But if it never got better, aren't you glad that we've got hope? He said, Preacher, I don't see any hope. I had somebody email me and said, I don't see any light. I don't see anything. If it's the light, it's the train coming through the other end of the tunnel. Friend, listen, can I tell you that's what Satan wants to slander God. He wants to discourage you this morning. He wants to get you down. He wants to paralyze you spiritually. He wants to rob your joy. He's a joy stealer. He wants to steal your joy this morning. Friend, God wants you to rejoice. That's what He said up in that verse 3. But we glory, we rejoice in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works patience. My problems are not without purpose. God is building spiritual endurance and tenacity. He's enabling me and building within me the ability to press on even when times get hard. And patience, experience through that God is growing me. I'm becoming a better person as a result of it. That's what God's doing in my life. And experience leads to hope. Because I understand and I recognize that as a child of God, I am never without hope. I never am. I never am. Friend, there's always hope in Jesus. Preacher, can I have that kind of hope? Absolutely you can. How do I have that? By being justified. Look at verse number 1 again. Therefore being justified by faith. Praying God wants you to have a peace that can never be disturbed. He wants you to have an access to Him that will never be denied. And He wants you to have a hope that can never be defeated. Christian, just remember today, this moment, this second, you're on the winning side. You've already won. The victory is already yours. We're not fighting for it. We're not clawing for it. We're not working toward it. Friend, we already have it in Jesus Christ. Now let's live in it. Let's share that hope with others. It's a real hope. It's a living hope. It's a blessed hope, the Bible says. We can rejoice in it today. Hey, we're just lumps of coal. Isn't that right? We've got a little bit of pressure and the Lord's making something special out of each one of our lives. He is. You say, Preacher, I don't see much in me. I look in the mirror. I don't see much. Friend, we don't have to. God sees it. God sees it. And what I need to do is quit trying to look at myself in a negative way or look at yourself in a negative way and look at us the way God looks at us. You say, Preacher, what do you mean by that? Friend, listen. God saw you so valuable that He gave His Son for you. He died for you. He was buried. He rose again. God, out of the billions of people on planet Earth, allowed you to hear the Gospel and you've gotten saved. I'd say that's mighty important to God. What do you think? I'd say that's valued. You're a king's child. You're a child of the king. Friend, listen, don't let the devil, slander God, beat you down and rob your joy and steal your hope. There is hope in Jesus. It's real. It's lasting. It's forever. Friend, let's quit looking out and let's start looking up. I must rejoice in Him today because if we're justified, friend, all this is ours right now.