First Baptist Church
309 E. NORTH ST. SIDNEY OHIO 45365
Sunday School @9:15am
Sunday Worship Service @10:30am
Wednesday Evening Service & Prayer Meeting @ 6:15pm
* nursery Provided on Sundays *
First Baptist Church
309 E. NORTH ST. SIDNEY OHIO 45365
Sunday School @9:15am
Sunday Worship Service @10:30am
Wednesday Evening Service & Prayer Meeting @ 6:15pm
* nursery Provided on Sundays *
Scripture: Romans 8:28 [732] April 14, 2024
Sermon: “Trusting God’s Ways” Pastor John Young
Have you ever struggled between God’s way of doing something in your life and your own way? Have you ever thought or said, “If I was God, I would have done ‘such-n-such’ differently?” If so, I think you’ll find our subject encouraging today.
Joe pulled the plane ticket from his pocket. After two days of lectures in Human Resources at the New Orleans Hilton, he was anxious to see the Dallas skyline. He always liked coming home. But especially this day—it was his tenth wedding anniversary.
While waiting on his seat assignment he thought through all the plans he had made. Cathy was picking him up at the airport after dropping the kids off at her mothers. The two of them would enjoy an elegant dinner and then stay overnight at the motel where they’d spent their honeymoon. But things don’t always turn out as planned…
The flight attendants’ words were like canon blasts! ‘Sir, I’m sorry but my computer does not show any reservations for you on this flight.’ Joe argued and pleaded, but to no avail. Apparently some stupid ‘computer glitch’ had fumbled things up. Joe had been bumped from the flight. He would not make it home until the following day.
Dejected, he called Cathy. They cried, got angry, and cried some more. The conversation ended with two sincere but disappointed “I love you’s.”
Feeling helpless and mishandled, Joe took the matter up with God, ‘Lord, I know You could have prevented this. In fact, I believe You could still get me back on that flight if You wanted to. How could You leave me stranded here? You know how important these plans were! How could You do this to me!’
Later that night, while watching the ten o’clock news in his hotel room, Joe saw images of what was left of the plane from which he had been bumped. It had crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. There were no survivors.
He reached for the phone, trembling, and called home again. He and Cathy would never forget this anniversary. Suddenly, God’s ways seemed so much better than they did hours earlier!
This story graphically illustrates that our Lord operates from an eternal agenda, not a daily planner! We want Him to adjust to us…but He adjusts to no one! Sometimes, when we expect Him to charge over the hill with the cavalry, He holds back. Other times, at the exact moment we think He has misplaced our address, He comes in through the back door! In many ways He is beyond figuring out! Not because He delights in some sort of cosmic ‘cat-and-mouse’ game, but because He’s God! Even with all He has revealed about Himself in His Word, His hand often moves in ways we can’t explain.
As such, every once in a while, God’s people need a reminder that the CREATOR is still involved with His creation! That the POTTER still sits at His wheel! So today, let’s get a fresh look at the trustworthiness of our Lord by way of remembrance. Consider with me:
I. God at Work in Joseph’s life.
Turn with me to Genesis 45 [p. 35], please.
(While you’re turning, let me fill you in on some key points regarding Joseph’s life that precede this passage).
1. Joseph began life as his father’s favorite.
2. In Egypt, God blessed Joseph with success as Potiphar’s servant and, eventually, as the overseer of all his possessions.
3. God was with Joseph, though.
1. Joseph’s brothers had no idea that the man before whom they bowed—the second most powerful man in all of Egypt—was the brother they had hated and sold into slavery! But they were about to find out…
a. Look at Genesis 45:1-3a, “Then Joseph could not refrain himself…I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?”
1) Imagine his brother’s emotions—shock, guilt, fear. Joseph’s revelation struck them speechless—vv. 3b-4.
2) What would you have done in Joseph’s place?
3) He had the authority to order the instant death of all of them, but rather than raising his own hand in judgment…
1) What a perspective! In other words, ‘God was in it from the beginning!’
c. Genesis 50:18-20 [p. 39]—Even after the death of their father, Joseph’s attitude remained the same.
1) Look at verse 19 again—“am I in the place of God?” (Joseph’s recognition of the plan and will of God).
[Coming to grips with God’s ways and will doesn’t mean we deny reality—Joseph plainly told his brothers that they “thought evil against” him. And it doesn’t guarantee pain-free living either! But acknowledging it will help us see more of life, including pain, as under God’s absolute control.]
Very quickly, then, let’s answer some questions I know you’re thinking…
Turn back with me to Romans 8:28
II. God at Work in Our Lives.
A. (How often we reach into the medicine cabinet of Scripture for this verse, hoping to ease the sting of divorce, job loss, or the untimely death of a child. AMEN?) But there’s more here than just medicine. Paul wants us to see that our lives are a part of God’s will and plan! Notice two reassurances and one “why” answer.
1. Reassurances. How do we know that God is working in our lives?
1) My friend! He made an investment!!!! Amen?
2) Don’t just look for the material signs to verify whether God’s working in your life (job, food, health, and peace). Look back at the cross!
2. Now, to the answer of ‘why.’
1) The answer is found nestled in the middle of verse 29, “he also did predestinate [us] to be conformed to the image of his Son.” We are God’s Project!
2) Listen, my beloved family in Christ, we are like an incomplete painting propped against God’s easel.
3) The work maybe painful, confusing and look to be without form at times, but we must remember—God has a plan to conform us to the completeness and fullness of HIS SON!
Conclusion: So, when you get bumped from your ‘flight’ by a ‘stupid computer glitz,’ remember, God’s in complete control. Someone else may have meant it for evil, but God means it for good!