Sermonette: No Pain, No Gain

Romans 8:28
#FT00-07s
Mike Ford (1955-2021)
Given 18-Oct-00; 20 minutes

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John asked us on the first day of the Feast, why are we here? And he told us because we believe. I would add to that “We answered our invitation.” It is part of our calling from God. Only a very few select individuals around this planet have been summoned to be a part of this training program, you might call it.

Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling.

This word “called” in the Greek denotes an invitation.

So here we are in this room having responded to this summons from the Almighty God. And we sit here this week picturing the Millennium, as Richard spoke about earlier—1,000 years of peace, prosperity, and joy. And then, as we are all aware, beyond that, the Kingdom of God for all eternity.

John Reid read I Corinthians 2:9 yesterday. I will read it again to you.

I Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

The human mind cannot even begin to conceive of the splendor, the beauty, and the wonder that awaits us.

This last year we [personally] got lots of correspondence from people and many mentioned this or that verse as their favorite verse. Each one in its own way was encouraging to us. I do not really have a favorite verse. I have several I like equally well, but probably as close as any of them is Revelation 21:4. You can turn there if you would. Greg Smith read this one near the end of his sermon. I like it best in the King James Version. Speaking here of the time beyond the Millennium:

Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

As a mortal human being, I cannot even begin to get a handle on this. “God shall wipe away all tears, no more death, no sorrow, no crying, no more pain.” Is that not incredible?

We sometimes lose sight of this awesome goal of ours as we slog through the trenches of daily life. When you are up to your neck in alligators, you forget that your original intention was to drain the swamp. Many of you have heard that. I would like to change that a little bit. “When you’re up to your neck in trials, you forget that you’re in training to become a member of the God Family.”

Now when I left “the tropical paradise that is Jefferson City” last year (think about that), I did not have too many goals other than to improve my sense of urgency and stay the course; just basically to try to enjoy a good year and make it back to the next year's Feast. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by alligators. And I want to speak today on a valuable tool that I have used to help maintain equilibrium over this last year.

And that is focus your eyes on the prize. You have heard that before, keeping your goals centered right in front of your eyes.

As I said, many people wrote to us, and they quoted different verses, their own favorite verses. Each was encouraging to us. There was one though that was the right thing at the right time. You have all had that happen, the right words at the right time. And for me it was Romans 8, verse 28. I had not thought of this particular verse in the midst of this particular affliction. And I knew pretty much how the King James translated this verse.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

It is a very well-known verse. But perhaps I had stayed away from this because it has a bit of a Protestant-y connotation. They use it quite a bit in the world. But when this friend wrote to us and mentioned this verse, I pulled the nearest Bible in hand from the shelf, and it happened to be the [J. B.] Phillips translation. Bingo, the right words at the right time. Let me read it to you from the Phillips translation.

Romans 8:28 (JBP) Moreover, we know that to those who love God, who are called according to His plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.

We knew that God was in charge, of course we knew that. And we knew that these trials would eventually pass and would be for our own good, this part of the maturing process as we work our way towards the Kingdom. Yet it was still comforting to read that everything that happened to us was God-ordained—part of His plan—because He is working with us.

Now we have heard much about God's sovereignty this past year, and I do not intend to plow that same ground, but there is a common thread with what I have here.

Now this verse breaks down very naturally into three parts. And I am going to use the Phillips translation as I break it down.

First of all, to those that love God. Secondly, who are called according to His plan. Third, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. So I would like to look quickly at each of those three parts.

First of all, who are those who love God? Simply put, those that keep His commandments.

John 14:15 “If you love Me keep My commandments.”

But let us look at I John 2 where he goes a little further.

I John 2:4-5 He who says I know him, but disobeys His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, in him truly love for God is perfected.

The second point: Now, this one breaks into two segments. Who are those called according to His plan? I think back to John's sermon of about 10 years ago, “Do You See God?” We used to send that tape out, I think, as the first thing that went to people when they called in. Those that are called see God in every facet of their lives.

In I Corinthians 1 as part of his salutation, Paul says to the church there in Corinth:

I Corinthians 1:2 (JBP) To those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

Those set apart, those that are invited to be in God's Kingdom, and that call on the name of Christ. Now anyone can call on Christ, but He will only respond to those that God has set apart, that He is working with, and that are striving for obedience.

I would like to read what Paul says to the Thessalonians:

I Thessalonians 2:11-12 (JBP) We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

We have been called according to God's plan. This is none of our doing. We only think that we are in charge of our day-to-day lives.

During a particularly low period back in June (bear with me), as I was reading John's article in Forerunner on prayer as they relate to sovereignty, I wrote to him and I asked him about prayer: “Does it do any good, really, to ask for anything more than God's will be done? If God's will is going to be done regardless of what I ask for, then why not just pray, ‘Your will be done,’ and end the prayer?” (Please understand my frame of mind at the time.) I would like to read the opening paragraph of his answer to me.

My overall purpose in that article was an attempt to help strip away some more vestiges of concepts about God that He is distant from our concern; unaware, or uncertain about our needs; that He needs advice from us; that He is operating without a plan for each of us individually, and is therefore operating by the seat of His pants; that we somehow operate independent of influence on others or from others; and to help others understand the real value of prayer.

It dawned on me that what I had been trying to do was change God's mind, rather than communicate with Him. I was doing a lot of talking, and very little listening. I had a very simple plan. My plan was for Him to heal Carol—yesterday; not even today, yesterday. I had to realize that He is working with us and through us, and He does indeed have a plan. He did not need my advice. He did not need my help. What He wanted was for me to come before Him in humility, and to seek His will; to find out His plan for us; to help Him in implementing it to our good.

Proverbs 19:21 (JBP) Many are the plans in the minds of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns may have said it just as well: “The best laid schemes of mice and men go oft astray.”

We have been called out of the world according to God's plan. The third portion of this verse (Romans 8:28): “Everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.” Now we know on an intellectual level that trials are going to come, and that they can be for our good. We know that in our minds. It is on the emotional level that we struggle.

I asked myself, as she lay there screaming with pain, “How can this be for my good?” I held the bucket, and she vomited blood, “How, God, can this be for my good?” She lay on the bed for months. “How can this be for my good?” I had to tell myself again and again, “God knows what He’s doing. And this is part of the plan.”

I saw God in so many answered prayers. But of course, they were small prayers. They were small answers. I wanted the big miracle. But I came to see more clearly that either God is working with you, or He is not. There is not an in between. There is no gray area. If you see God, it is because He is working with you. And if He is indeed working with you, then it is according to His plan. And it does indeed fit into a pattern for good.

We had correspondence from all over the world, which we very much appreciate. A lady in Houston (not with our group) got one of my emails. It was forwarded to her down the line. I do not know how it came to her. She wrote a very nice letter to me. I wrote her a response back. We began to correspond. She was always so very encouraging. And about the third note, I got the feeling that maybe she was speaking from experience. Maybe she has some health problems too. So I wrote back and asked her. And I would like to read a few lines from her response. And I told her I would do this.

She began,

Thank you for your concern. Yes, I was terminal, but they say I am in remission. They are taking me off hospice. You understand fully what hospice is? That is where you go to die. I have had both legs amputated, so I cannot walk. I still have a lump in my left breast, but it has not grown. After my second amputation due to diabetes, they ran so many tests on me; and finally sent me home to die.

God intervened and I got stronger. The nurses who first saw me compared their first thoughts to how I am now and stand in awe. I give God the credit completely.

Listen to some of her ailments:

I had congestive heart failure, lung problems, kidney failure 3 times (and the cancer).

That is an afterthought—“and the cancer”—like it was a minor irritant I guess.

I am now off the blood pressure pills. My heart is strong, and I control the diabetes through diet. So I say praise God for His mercy, His power, and love. My husband of 57 years takes care of me, and cooks and washes dishes, and clothes, which he never did before, she adds.

This, to me, was someone with their eyes on the prize. I sat reading her letter one night crying like a baby. And it made me so very ashamed. We do not have difficulties. That there is difficulties.

Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.

Trials can bring us closer to God. They can bring us closer to each other. But if we lose our way, if we lose our focus, they can then drive a wedge into those same relationships.

Let us turn to James 1.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.

This is a very nice tie-in with Romans 8:28. Let us turn back to Romans 8, because I would like to read three of the verses that preceded verse 28, verses 14, 17, and 18.

Now James was giving us encouragement to endure because of the prize that awaits those who love, those who are obedient to God. And I cannot tell you, through the sleepless nights, how we were consoled with the knowledge that everything that happened was for a reason, and would ultimately be for our good.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

Romans 8:17-18 And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

You and I—we, the people in this room—will teach the multitudes in the Millennium. And you and I will execute judgments. And we will have eternal life. And we will be able to do this, because God has prepared us.

We must stay focused, never losing sight of our goal. The Millennium, yes, that is part of it as we symbolize that this week. But even more importantly, the Kingdom of God as we have already heard, and the glory which shall be revealed in us—a time of no more pain. I cannot begin to fathom a time of no more pain.

Difficulties are going to come in our lives. Difficulties will go. But for those who love God, who are called according to His plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.

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