Your Choices and God's Choices
Today’s sermon focuses on understanding how God, in His wisdom and power, uses evil choices to bring about good. This understanding will encourage you not to be worried when evil comes against you. The background of this sermon is that those who choose to do the right thing belong to God, and those who choose to do evil belong to the devil (1 John 3:7-10). This should encourage you to decide to do the right thing.
Text Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8: 28-30 ; 1 Cor 2:8-9,
When Joseph’s brothers chose to sell him into slavery, they meant evil. God also allowed that to happen, but God's motive for allowing it to happen was good, so that as Joseph left his people, he would go to Egypt for a divine assignment: to save people from famine.
The sacrifice on the cross is the greatest act of God's love and the most excellent demonstration of His love. When the people were crucifying Jesus, they did not know that, in doing so, they were fulfilling a prophecy ( 1 Cor. 2:8-9; Acts 2:22-24).
St. Paul summarises Your choices and God’s choices in Romans 8:28.
People who benefit from ‘the good from God’ (Romans 8:28-32).
These are people who love God and are called according to His purpose. Thus, if someone loves God and is doing His will, then God causes all things to work together for this person's good.
What ‘good’ does God do for people who love Him?
Calling: God will call you. It is an effectual call, from self and earth to God, and Christ and heaven as our end; from sin and vanity to grace and holiness, as our way; from destroying yourself and others to saving yourself and others: this is the gospel call.
Predestined,
Conformity: to be conformed to the image of his Son Jesus Christ ( born again by the Spirit of God and to live as a child of God).
Justified: to receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ (e.g. Acts 2:38-41).
Glorified: to see the Lord face to face. This is the desire of true believers like Job (Job 19:26) and Moses (Exodus 33:20-23), and even our Lord Jesus (John 17:1-2).