The Sovereignty of God #3 — Ernest C. Reisinger

If you would open your Bibles again to that chapter that we read for our scripture lesson this morning, Romans chapter 8. For the past two Sunday evenings we've been considering that great comforting, consoling, hopeful and encouraging doctrine of the sovereignty of God Almighty.

We've been looking at it at different heads. We've considered the meaning of the absolute sovereignty of God. We considered the message of the absolute sovereignty of God. And we began with the mystery.

This morning I'd like to continue that theme, the sovereignty of God in providence. I've been preaching these sermons to myself these weeks and I have to over my life in general about God is sovereign.

The sovereignty of God in providence. He not only created the world, but he governs the world. We sing it in Isaac Watts' Christmas hymn. He rules the world with truth and grace. He makes the nation prove the glory of his righteousness.

I wish everyone that sang these Christmas carols this year, in the next couple of weeks, would absorb some of the tremendous theology in our Christmas carols. They are pregnant with Bible truth, pregnant with good sound theology.

And that's one of the places where it sticks out about God's sovereignty. He rules the world with truth and grace. The doctrine of the absolute sovereignty of God, truly it is one of those great and glorious truths.

And yet there are those who grit their teeth when they have this doctrine presented to them. God's sovereignty is not something to make us grit our teeth about, like as if we can't do anything about it.

No, no, it's not that at all. God's sovereignty is a glorious doctrine. And it should not drive us neither to fatalism nor to grit our teeth. I heard a preacher, he told the story, I don't know if it was true or not, I kind of doubt it, but he was a Baptist preacher telling the story about a Presbyterian preacher who preached on predestination one Sunday.

And in that church, that pastor had a farmer who had to go over the mountain to come to his church to get back and forth from church, he had to go over the mountain. Well, there was two ways to go. He could take a short cut that took about 15 minutes.

But that was rather dangerous and narrow and rough and it went, no guardrails down over the cliff. And then there was a way, a longer way that took about an hour. And that was safe and had guardrails and it was very safe and well kept, not dangerous at all.

And so after this particular sermon on predestination, the farmer reasoned to himself, he said, well, if I'm predestinated to get home safely, I'll get home safely regardless which way I take. Whether I take the short way or the long way.

So I might as well save the time and take the short way. So he took the short way, the dangerous way. The horse slipped off the cliff and was killed. The farmer broke two legs. And the preacher came to visit him and he said, what in the world happened to you?

He said, it was that fool sermon you preached. He said, he said, I figured if that was true, it wouldn't matter which way I took. So I took the shortcut. The preacher said, did you ever take the shortcut before?

He said, why, of course not. No fool would go down there. Well, he said, I guess God predestinated you to be a fool. And today you made your calling an election shooter. Now I want to tell you that the truth of the sovereignty of God should not drive us to that kind of fatalistic, to be a fatalistic fool, nor should it drive us to make us grit our teeth.

The attitude it should bring to us is that attitude that the great apostle had after he penned Romans 8, 9, 10, and 11, the four chapters that are probably four of the most outstanding chapters on the subject of the sovereignty of God in all the Bible.

But I say, what kind of a disposition did St. Paul have after he penned those great chapters on the sovereignty of God? This is the disposition of heart it should be. Oh, he said in Romans chapter 11, after he finished, he says, oh, the depth, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God.

How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. That's the kind of a disposition. You see, because we never think of God's sovereignty, or we shouldn't at least, apart from his graciousness.

We should never think of his sovereignty apart from his goodness and his kindness and his love and his mercy. Because God's grace is sovereign grace. God's love is sovereign love. God's wisdom is sovereign wisdom.

God's holiness is sovereign holiness. And his mercy is sovereign mercy. You see, the reason it's important to emphasize that, because that tells us something about the one who holds the destiny in our hands.

In his hands. You know, if you could convince me that Mr. Carnes had my destiny in his hands, you couldn't convince me of that. But if you could, if you could, you know one of the first things I'd want to know about him?

I'd want to know what kind of a man he is. What's he like? Is he a kind man? Or is he a cruel man? Well thus, when we talk about our sovereign savior, we must tell sinners not only that he's sovereign, but he's the most gracious being that is.

And that he delights in mercy. And that no sinner, no sinner ever humbled himself at the sovereign throne of our maker that did not find mercy, grace, and forgiveness. My text this morning is found in the 8th chapter of Romans, verse 28.

Next to John 3 .16, I suppose this text is as well known as any other text in the Bible. But though the text is generally known, it is probably the most misquoted verse in all the Bible. Little understood, and little believed.

And yet, it's one of the most remarkable statements in all of the Bible. One of the most comforting statements in the whole range of scripture. Well how is it misquoted? Most people, when they quote it, they say, all things work together for good.

Well that's neither in the Bible nor is it true. Because they don't call things work together for good, and it's not what the text says either. Then some say, well all things work together for good to them that love God.

And they stop there. Well, that's still not a correct quote. And you'll never understand the verse if you stop there. And still others get a little closer. And they say, all things work together for good to them that love God.

To them who are called according to his purpose. Now that's what most of you would be this morning. That's the way you'd quote it. That's the way you'd quote it. But let me tell you, you leave off three very important words.

And that is the first three words of the text. And we know that all things work together for good. So when you quote it, don't leave off, leave off the first three words. Let me quote it from the New American Standard to you this morning, before we start to look into the text.

It says, the New American Standard says,. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Now with such a passage in the scripture, it's amazing that there's so little comfort and hope by the people who claim to believe the Bible.

And especially when the people are in difficult times, in times of affliction, in times of trial. This is a verse for a weary head and a sorry heart. But why do people find, and I include myself, receive such little comfort from it when they need it most?

Well, I want to give you some reasons, but I believe why that's true this morning. Why do they receive such little comfort for a great promise like this? This precious promise. Well, first, they do not take the verse in its entirety or in its context.

As I've already mentioned, many misquote it. It does not say that all things work together for good for everyone. Now that's very clear in the text. It says, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

And let me tell you, that pins the crowd down a bit, right there. That cuts out a lot of people right there. You know immediately that there's a limitation on this statement. It's to those who love God and those who are called according to his promise.

It's promise, therefore, is only good to a specified people, those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Now that immediately emphasizes something that's emphasized throughout all the Bibles.

That is, that ultimately, ultimately there's only one real division in the human race. And everyone here this morning, and everyone in the whole world, is on one side of that dividing line. And all other divisions and distinctions are ultimately, notice I said ultimately, irrelevant.

And that is, that that line is, those who love God and are called according to his purpose and the rest of mankind. For all others. And the Bible tells us quite plainly, that all things do not work together for good to those who are on the other side of that line.

The Bible tells us they are under the wrath of God. The great apostle already had told us in the first chapter of Romans, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth in their wickedness.

That doesn't sound like things are working together for good then, if the wrath of God abides upon them. When I think of Sodom, that sex-mad city, and God pouring out fire and brimstone on that city, that wasn't working for their good.

That wasn't working for their good. I think of Pharaoh, who hated God with his armies, buried in the sea, things weren't working for his good that day, the wrath of God abides on him. When I think of Noah preaching for 120 years to that godless generation that would not hear him, when God sent that deluge, that flood, I assure you that it wasn't working for their good.

Whatever may be true of the unconverted at the moment, however prosperous and happy they may appear, and they do, however much the sun seems to be shining on their pathway, the terrible fact remains that those who do not love God are under the wrath of God.

Appearances sometimes may seem to contradict the facts, but they will ultimately, ultimately discover that this is their true position and their true state. And then you will note this text does not say, you will note that it does not say, all things are good.

Pain is not good, whether you're a Christian or not a Christian. Pain in itself is not good. Affliction is not good in and of itself, whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian. The text does not say everything is good.

It doesn't say that. Sorrow is not good, whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian. The text does not say that if I'm a Christian, nothing evil or painful will happen to me. That's both contrary to scripture and experience.

Sin is always evil. Christian or non-Christian, young or old, sin is always evil. Original sin, one of the mysteries that we do not fully understand, but whether we understand the mystery of original sin or not, there's one thing we know, and that is it's here.

You don't have to be a theologian to know that. It's here. The Westminster Divine stated as follows, God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit sin, having proposed to order it for his own glory.

I think we'll leave it right at that. The only answer I ever have for my questioning mind about original sin is this. That is, it shows God, him permitting sin, it shows him to be more mighty and to be more almighty, to bring good out of evil than never to have allowed evil to exist.

But our personal sins, Christian sins, they're always evil. They're never good. But they are included in the promise that I'm directing your attention to this morning. They are included in the all things.

How can good come out of sin? Well, many ways. First of all, let me just share one. Sin shows the Christian his weakness. Sin shows the Christian his frailty and his fallibility. Self-confidence is one of the greatest dangers in the world.

But when a man falls into sin, his self-confidence is shaken. John Bunyan put it like this, He that is down need fear no fall, and he that is low, no pride. You see, when things are going well, a man is in danger of pride.

That's a very dangerous time. That's why prosperity is so dangerous. That's a danger of pride and being puffed up. But the moment he falls into sin, he's made to realize again that I'm weak, I'm frail.

And that doesn't mean that sin is good, but rather that God can bring good out of sin. Let me tell you, my dear, the prodigal son knew more about his father when he returned home than he did before he left.

He knew how his father felt more than when he left. It was when he was received back and his father came running and met him and hugged him with a kiss of love, he began to know and feel his father's forgiveness that he never knew before.

Yes, he was wrong in leaving home, and certainly it was sinful to live in riotous living in that far country. All that was wrong, but nevertheless, he was a much better man at the end than he was at the beginning.

He knew more about sonship and about his father and about his father's love than he knew before. You see, it brings a Christian to see his constant need, constant need of grace, his constant need of watchfulness, his constant need of care.

Now, this teaching is not to entice sin, of course not. No, no. But it's meant to show that God can even use sin to do us good. Of course, this only applies to Christians. The unbeliever has a whole different view of sin.

The unbeliever has a whole different view of sin. And God does not use sin to his advantage at all. We wouldn't have those penitential psalms. I read one this morning. Almost always before I preach, I read a penitential psalm.

And this morning was no exception. We wouldn't have the penitential psalm if David had not sinned. And frankly, I would not want a Bible that did not have Psalm 51 in it. Why? Because that psalm is one long cry for pardon and restoration.

That psalm is blotted with tears, and many a sin-tormented soul has found a path from a backslidden life to a fresh view of Christ and his forgiveness in that psalm. David's sin was evil, evil, evil!

But God brought good out of it. So we are able to attest from the Bible on biblical ground, we are able to attest on biblical ground that even when a Christian falls into sin and becomes a backslider when he's restored and it all ends up, ultimately, ultimately it will be for his good.

Why? Because all things work together for good to them that love God. Another reason why Christians draw so little comfort from that tremendous verse is that they do not realize the extent of this promise.

When God says all, he means all. Now I've found some commentators who reasoned that away, but I'm with Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones on that point. I think when God says all, he means all things. Not just the important things, not the many things that come in your life, not most things that come in your life.

God has pledged in this verse to work all things without exception for his glory and our good. All things at all times, young people, boys and girls, middle age, old age, it applies to boys and girls as well as adults.

Whether you're a man or a woman, a father or a mother, a grandfather or a grandmother, all places, in home, in the shop, and in the church. Now I can't, I can't put that together, and we'll talk about that in a moment.

But nevertheless, that's a promise. And the reason people cannot, cannot draw all the comfort and hope from such a verse is because they do not realize and reckon with the extent of the promise. Now I pointed out, first of all, it doesn't say, it doesn't say each thing is good.

That's plural, things. And it says that God works all things, not each single thing, for the good of those who love him. The King James says, together for good, together for good. And again, let me emphasize, it's not just that one thing in your life.

Not that. You know, I don't know how to bake a cake. I never baked a cake. Some men bake and do all those nice things, but I never did know how to bake a cake. But I know a lot of the ingredients that go in the finished product.

I know there's flour, and there's shortening, and there's salt, and there's sugar. And there are things, plural, that go together. Did you ever try eating a handful of flour? Or eating a cup of Crisco?

Or a mouthful of salt? When Mother properly puts them together and puts them in the oven, that's when it comes out good. But you try the individual things. And we cannot in our life explain the individual things in our life.

There are many things that we do not understand. But we do know, if you believe the Bible, that all that God is doing with these things, we don't know what He's doing, but He knows what He's doing with these things, plural.

And the Bible teaches that ultimately, when God puts it all together, it will be for His glory and the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And if you demand for each thing or circumstance in your life, if you demand of God an answer for each individual thing in your life, you know how you'll wake up?

You will get, all you will get by trying to demand that God answers some specific thing in your life, all you'll get is to feel the pain of the jagged edges of unbelief. You see, Christian, because you don't know the all things, we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle.

How many of you have worked jigsaw puzzles? Well, if you'd like one, see Arlene Shore. She has a whole gang up. I used to work jigsaw puzzles. I don't have time anymore. But you know, when I worked those puzzles, and I'm sure if you worked them, it happened to you, you'd have that piece.

You'd have that odd piece, and it would seem a different color than the puzzle, and you'd pick it up, and you'd want to put it someplace. It didn't work. And you'd pick that piece up 50 times during the time, and finally you decided some stupid clerk put that in there.

It doesn't belong in this puzzle at all. And you never could get that piece. A lot of times, it's the last piece you put in the puzzle. Well, let me tell you. Our life isn't a jigsaw puzzle, but it has a lot of pieces.

A lot of pieces. And those odd pieces perplex us about our children, or our grandchildren, or our neighbors, or those circumstances that God brings in our lives. There are many, many, many pieces that I don't have in my puzzle.

One of the comforts that I can take is when I can flee to this verse and ask God to help me to believe it, and help me to rest on it, and to know that ultimately, ultimately the picture will be complete, and ultimately I'll understand that all things work together for good, to them that love God, and them who are called according to His purpose.

This is a great verse to go into the New Year with it. That's one of the reasons I'm preaching this this morning. And that's just why it's so important that we know something about the sovereignty of God.

Because you see, when you see the picture of the sovereignty of God from the Bible, you see a God that not only made all, but as the Christmas carol says, He controls all. He knows all the pieces that go together.

And not only that, but He controls the variables. He controls the variables in the plan. And that's why it's important to see that God is sovereign. Because He's in control. Let me give you an example.

Suppose you had a goal or a plan in mind. You had something in mind, some project. And the plan, and the plan to accomplish that project, whatever it was that you had in your mind, there were six specific things that must take place in order for you to ultimately reach that ultimate goal or to reach that plan.

In other words, there are six variables, variables, that you must completely control in order for the plan to work. But in the course of your operation, you see that only five of them can be brought under your control.

And since, and since you can't bring the fifth one under control, the whole plan is fouled up and it doesn't go through. My dear God is not like that. God is not like that. He not only has a plan, but He controls all the variables.

Christians, when children grow up, parents want to do the best for them. Good parents do at least, and I trust that's all of you. You want to do the best for your children. Now, parents don't always know what's best.

In fact, that's what helps to foul up the kids. Parents don't know what's best for them. But they want to do the best. Sometimes, they can't do what's best because they don't have the means. Maybe it's financial reasons or other reasons.

But they can't do what they think is best. Other times, parents know what's best, but they don't have the means to provide. And other times, they have the means to provide, they know what's best, but they can't get the cooperation of the children.

Don't you think about that? You can't get the cooperation of the children. Ah, my dear, God is not like that. God is not like that. He controls the variables. And He not only knows what's best and controls all the variables, but He can get the cooperation.

Why? Because the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord. The King's heart. And if the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord, then all those other hearts are in the hand of the Lord. See, He is not like sinful, ignorant parents who knows what's right and best and has power to perform, yet they can't get the cooperation.

God is not like that. Now, there are many variables. There are many variables in our life. Just one thing depends on something else. The decision you're going to make to move, for instance. The decision you're going to make to change jobs.

There are many variables in life. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells of an old preacher who uses a good illustration to explain the matter, I think. He was trying to explain Romans 8 .28 to somebody. And he said this.

He says, here's a statement, referring to Romans 8 .28. Here's a statement that appears to be contradictory. All things work together for good to them that love God. How can that be? How can that be? The good things I can see are working in that direction.

But those other things, they seem to be working in an opposite direction. How can you say things which are working in the opposite direction are for my good, things that are against me? The old preacher told a fellow to pull out his watch.

He made him take the back off the watch. He took the back off the watch. What do you see? Well, you see some wheels going clockwise. And you see some wheels going anti-clockwise in a totally different direction.

And you look at the machinery of that watch and you say, this is mad. This is quite ridiculous. Here are the wheels turning in the wrong direction. And the man who made the watch must have been a madman.

But he wasn't. He so arranged those wheels, put in the mainspring to all the wheels, wound it up. And when he wound it up, if you look at the front, they weren't going to two different ways. They were all moving the right way, to move the watch in the right way.

They may appear to be contradictions, and they were real seeming contradictions. The wheels were going both ways. Our lives are like that. We look at life, and you ask first, what's happening to me? What's going on?

I see certain things are good for me, but other things seem so against me. They're going the wrong direction. But think again, my dear troubled heart. Think again of the watchmaker, who planned it all.

Don't jump to conclusions. Look for the ultimate. And I want to emphasize that word this morning. Look for the ultimate purpose. Look for the ultimate end. And if you do so with a spiritual eye, notice I said with a spiritual eye, if you look at the ultimate end with a spiritual eye, you will soon begin to see that God knows what he's doing.

How could the great apostle say with confidence the first three words of that text? And we know. And don't ever leave these three words out, or you'll come up with the wrong view of that verse. And we know.

And we know that all things work together for good. Now he just said, if you look carefully in Romans 8, he just said in verse 26, we know not what we should pray for as we are. How can these two statements be reconciled?

He said we know not what we should pray for. Now the apostle says we know. Well, to explain that paradoxical statement, we know not and we know, you see, the Christian is one who can be certain. He can be certain about the ultimate future because he believes the Bible.

And when he's most uncertain about it is the immediate. That's where he has his problem. The Christian has a problem with the immediate, the immediate time. The real secret of the statement is that the final comfort, the final comfort and consolation of the Christian, the Christian doesn't know everything.

You don't know all those invariables, those variables in your life right now. There's a lot of questions. There's not a person here that doesn't have questions about things in your life. But this one thing the Christian does know, look at him in trouble.

Everything apparently going against him. He is so perplexed, he doesn't know what to pray for as he ought to pray. And all that he can do is breathe out those groanings that produce, that are produced in him by the Holy Spirit.

That's all he can do. He's confused and he doesn't understand. And yet at that very point, on the basis of God's Word, he can say, I do not know which way to turn or go. I do not understand these things that are happening in my life.

And I don't know exactly at this moment what to pray for as I ought to. But this I know. But this I know. In spite of my ignorance, in spite of everything that's happening to me, this, everything else is working for my good.

Now, that's the final comfort and consolation of the Christian. To know that everything is working for God's glory and His good. To use a military analogy, a lot of generals lost little individual battles, but they won the war.

Victory is assured, even though we might lose some of the battles. The ultimate outcome of the campaign is beyond any question or doubt. You may lose some little battles. You may have some pieces you're still trying to put in the puzzle.

You may fail in many details, dear Christians, but that makes no ultimate difference. That makes no ultimate difference. And it's the ultimate. It's guaranteed in the verse. That is how we reconcile I know not, verse 26, and we know in verse 28.

This is a principle that one has to be constantly applying to the Christian walk in welfare, warfare in this world. This is a text that I must speak constantly, constantly applying to our walk in warfare in this world.

How could Paul be so sure? How could he say, we know, K-N-O-W? You know, there are two of Paul's favorite expressions in this great chapter. One is found in our text today, verse 28. We know. But the other one is, I am persuaded, found in verse 38, I think it is.

He said, I know. In another case, he said, These are two of his favorite words. But how could he know? Well, my dear, look at your Bible now, and I want you to examine his argument. Examine carefully his argument in verses 29 and 30, and then you'll have it.

This is how he could know, listen to the argument. 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 brothers. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, whom he called he justified, and whom he justified he glorified.

My dear friend, that is God Almighty's unbreakable chain of theology. And if you're in the first link, you're in the last link. If you're in the first link, if you're in the last link, the first link, you'll be in the end, because the last link has to do with the ultimate end, glorified.

You notice in verse 31, he says, What shall we say to these things? After he rehearses this tremendous chain of biblical theology, he says, What shall we say to these things, in verse 33? Oh, what things he's talking about.

He's talking about those things he just mentioned, in verse 29 and 30. That's the great purpose of God, to ultimately, ultimately perfect us and bring us to glory. And when we know the ultimate end, you can sing with the hymn writer, When all around my soul gives way,.

Then he then is all my hope and stay, His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood. When you know the ultimate, you can sing that hymn with the hymn writer. Ah, but the promise in verse 28.

I want to remind, I'm talking to Christians who can make that promise. The promise, my dear friends, you who are here and are unconverted, you who are on the other side of that line, you who do not come under that title of loving God and being called according to his purpose, if you're on the other side of that line, this is not a promise for you.

Which side of that line do you think you're on this morning? As you're about to face another unknown year, unknown waves before you roll, unknown paths, which side are you on? Well, let me tell you. Whichever side you're on, God will be glorified regardless of what you do or what you say because he'll be glorified in the destruction of the wicked, just like he was all through the Bible.

He was glorified in the destruction of those sex-mad people of Sodom. He was glorified in those haters of God in Egypt. He was glorified by the haters of God in the day of the flood. Just as his justice and his righteousness and his holiness will be glorified then.

So, at his mercy and grace is glorified in the salvation of poor lost sinners. This text should cause a sinner to seek God with all their heart. And if you miss everything else I said this morning, I pray that there'll be enough in it to make you a true seeker after God.

Plead with him to open your understanding. Plead with him to open your hard-locked heart. Pray, oh God, some of you young people, you know, some of you young people, you boys and girls, and I've been talking to some of you.

You know how you operate, you know how you're really operating? You're operating like, well, I'm not, I'm in no man's land. I want to tell you there's not a person here in no man's land. You're either on one side of that line that I'm talking about this morning or on the other, whether you're young or old.

You're on one side of that line or the other. You know, I witnessed to a lawyer for about a year and a half once, and he used to say to me, Ernie, you know, I'm not good enough for heaven, and I'm not bad enough for hell.

Now, he thought he was somewhere in between. And some of you people who think you're in no man's land, let me tell you, you're not. Because there's no third place. You're on one side, you're on the side that says, I love God and I've been called according to his purpose, or you're with the rest.

And if you're with the rest, this book teaches me that you are lost and doomed and damned. Let me give you a little test this morning. You may say, well, I don't know which side of that line I'm on. I don't know which side of that line I'm on.

Well, let me give you a little test this morning. There's a verse in Proverbs 25, verse 25 that says this, As cool waters are to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Good news from a far country.

I don't know how many of you like to get letters, but when I was in the Navy in the South Pacific, we only had mail ship catch up to us every once in a while. Sometimes it was a month. You know, and if I wasn't too tired, I would go to mail call.

And if I was tired, I didn't bother when the mail call came. And I never stand in those long lines to get my letters. And sometimes I didn't even open the mail that I got. And sometimes I'd open it and only read halfway through.

Can you believe that? I know. And you're right. If anyone's ever overseas or in a war, you know that's not true. I couldn't wait for that mail call. I couldn't wait for that mail call. And I stood in line after everybody left thinking maybe there was one more letter.

Maybe there was one for me. Some days there wasn't any letters for you. And you stood there and hear the names call out. No, I stood in all those lines. And I read the letters over and over again. If you examined some of them, you'd see brown spots.

There'd be a big tear on some of those letters. If I say them. The letters were marked by tears. Why? Because these letters represented everything I lived for. They were from home. They were from my wife, my mother sometimes.

And I lived for the day when I could go home. Oh, I did my job the best I could. I worked. But my real life, my real life was represented by those letters. So was real Christians. Tell me your attitude toward this book and its truth.

I will tell you whether you have any reason to believe that you're one who loves God. Because in this book there is what it says in Proverbs. There is cool water for thirsty souls. And this book is good news from a far country.

This good news, this refreshing message to a soul that's hungry for God. And boys and girls, you place yourself on one side of that line this morning. Which side are you on? That's the whole point. That's what I'm trying to emphasize.

Has the scripture been good news about God's forgiveness? And you say, I thank you for your forgiveness. Good news of forgiveness is good news about Jesus that we're thinking so much about these days.

Jesus who came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. She shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. And Christians, let me say to you, to whatever extent to whatever extent and I know this by experience to whatever extent you grasp with your heart Romans 8, 28 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 to what extent you grasp that with your heart to that extent you will be delivered from depression and doubt and despair.