Series: Saints
Message: Suffering
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jason Calvert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 8:18-30 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Paul writes, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:28–30).
As a believer and an amateur theologian, I believe in predestination. And I believe in free choice.
Most folks from my church place a heavier emphasis on free choice than they do on predestination, and I’m not sure why.
I didn’t choose to be born. I didn’t choose my parents. I didn’t choose to be put up for adoption at birth. I didn’t choose the color of my skin, the environment I grew up in, the English I speak, nor my gender. I didn’t choose the religion my parents exposed me to or the good and bad things that happened to me as a child. I had no choice in any of that.
Nor did the little Muslim boy choose to be born into a conservative Muslim family, or the little Kenyan girl choose to be born in a dung hut on the Maasai Mara. For all the talk of free choice, we sure don’t seem to have much when it comes the stuff that molds us into who we are.
On the other hand, we do have choices to act on what life has handed us, even those these are things we did not choose.
With regard to predestination, I believe that each and every person born of a woman is predestined to be saved. That’s right. We are all born with an A. Other churches teach that we are born guilty and condemned because of Adam’s sin. I don’t think this is Biblical at all. I believe God has as His intention for every person to be saved and redeemed into the Kingdom. God condemns no man to hell; people have to choose that destiny for themselves.
Ephesians 1 suggests that we were chosen/predestined before the foundation of the world to be saved and redeemed. Psalm 139 suggests that we are “knit together in our mother’s womb,” with intention. Revelation 13:8 indicates that we all enjoy the benefits of the Cross “before the foundation of the world.”
All things work together for good because God has destined us for good things. He intends good things for us. He desires for us better things than we could ever desire for ourselves. He intends to have us in His will and by His side. We are the only thing that can get in the way of God’s blessings. Often, His blessings even trump our own foibles and misguided beliefs and actions. God is always better than we think He is.
Recalibrate: Is it hard to believe that God has chosen you, even before you were born, to be saved and redeemed? Do you know that you are a saved person and that the only way to be lost is for you to choose it for yourself?
Respond: Thank God for saving you and never leaving or forsaking you.
Research: Read Ephesians 1. Notice how predestination applies to you, personally.
Remember: “Consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18, NIV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.
Even when our love fails, God’s love will not. The Bible says so and so do Scarlett and Jack in this very cute video. Watch and repeat.
The Bible says, in Romans 8:37, that in all things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. We are winners because of Jesus' love for us. Paul describes how nothing will ever separate us from God’s love for us, because when He sees the people who are on Team Live Love, He sees people who love His Son Jesus. Watch this and see if you can remember the text.
Time to be honest. What causes you to question or doubt God’s love for you? Is there a difficulty you are currently experiencing, and, through the suffering, you’re just not confident all these things we’ve been talking about this week are true and real in your life? In short, here’s the message: God is for you! No matter who or what is against you, God is for you. As a follower of Jesus, you will face hardships. There is no doubt. Jesus told His disciples that following Him would mean they’d face the same kind of hostile treatment He faced (John 15:19-21). Today, you can know for certain that no matter what you face for the sake of Christ, God is for you!