Elijah his first Test
Review:
a. Our
Need of God's Guidance
When God's will is perplexing, the test comes in how we respond.
While
God does not speak to us directly as He did with Elijah, who as a prophet
received direct revelation from the Lord, He does speak to us through the Scripture
and, in a certain sense, through the events and circumstances of life.
Illustration: The following details are given of the unusual
circumstances under which William Cowper wrote the hymn, "God Moves in a
Principle: God is not in a state of indifference concerning our
affairs, our circumstances.
This is noted in
several Scriptures that stresses God's work in the affairs of our lives. This is part and parcel of God's leading and
includes the tests we will face in time.
There
is some knowledge that we as Saints must understand that leads to having a right Mental
Attitude in life no matter what the circumstances might be.
- First need to note the wider context of Rom 8 and we
discover it is one of sin and suffering; we live in a world totally impacted by
sin and suffering because of the fall.
Ex:
We
do not control the undeserved suffering, or the CHP's
that we might face in this life but we do have everything to say about how we
respond to them;
We
are here, in this life, for what purpose?
We are here to bring honor and glory to Him who loved and sent His
uniquely born Son to die for us and we are here to bear witness to that fact.
Detail of
8:28a.
Rom
8:28 "And we know..."
says that we need in the light of the present situations, the circumstances
that we are facing we need to know some doctrine, some truth or we are not
going to be prepared to deal with the circumstance faced.
oi=da
used here is
knowledge based on fact;
for that reason it’s a perfect used with a present meaning; therefore something
true that is known and has lasting,
on-going influence in the life!
What
we "know" then
refers to the facts of God's truth, His revelation to us; And they are not profitable to us
unless we know them and believe them; so
that they become indelibly a part of our F/O/R; and we are willing to apply
them; to be obedient to the Word of
God. Heb. 4:2
The
believer w/o an extensive F/O/R of truth is like a ship with out a rudder; has
no direction in life; headed for a shipwreck. Eph 4:14
- pa,nta = plural; and the form same for both nom. or
accusative, if Nom. then its used as the
subject; if accusative it is the direct
object of the verb.
* What's the "all
things"; all the
circumstances of life, all the CHP's; all those
things that you will have to face that are beyond your control; all the
suffering related to your stand for Christ, all the suffering related to living
in a sin cursed world.
* When you take that CHP, that test that your facing and mix it together with what you KNOW, doctrine,
the truth from the Word of God, then there is a result, an end.
- “work together” - sunerge,w =; to mix together; to cooperate.
- God takes the circumstances of life and His word
communicated and believed and applied to come together to provide for His own.
- The result = "for
good" eivj avgaqo,n (acc) eivj = direction toward therefore
indicates the result or end.
- What is "good?"
Must ask from whose standpoint, or by whose standard, by what definition?
God
is the only source of good and therefore God is the only definer of good.
- Since the good here is defined by God!! What is the
highest good?? God's glory!
Point
is that God takes the adversities, the circumstances of life and uses them in
such a way as to present to us various situations in our lives where we're
going to have to make choices.
- How can God take this mess I'm in and work it together
towards a good end,
namely His glory?? He is the Sov God of
the universe! He is in control!
Paul
is describing here the mental attitude that we as believer ought to have as we
face each day that He has given us.
- Corrected Txln 8:28: And we know that to the ones who love
God, He (God) works
together [blends/mixes together] all things resulting in good, to those
who are the called according to (His) purpose.
Illustration: Was it good that Joseph was sold
into slavery by his brothers? Or that he
spent several years in jail for something he did not do? No, of course not, but
let's not forget the words of Joseph in Genesis 50:19-21.
For whom is God at work? Who did
Romans 8:28 point: "to those who
love God."
To the believer who
loves God and is sensitive to God's working, applying the truth in that
circumstance a good purpose is achieved, or can be as we respond biblically--in
faith (James 1:2-4).
What is God's final
Goal?
"According to His purpose" refers to God's overall goal or
plan for man in conforming us to the
image of His Son--Christlikeness (vs. 29) that is
how we ultimately glorify God in time.