The Big Setup [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. We don't expect things in life to simply work for good of their own accord. When we find things working out beneficially for us, it's all God, all grace, all Him. When things work out, Keller says, Christians never say, of course, that's as it should be.

Rather, they praise God for it. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, More Than Conquerors, a study of Romans 8 as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Just contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. Got to spend a whole week at the beach with a family, which meant that grandbaby Mia was there. Oh, she's just getting cuter, seven and a half months old.

And boy, just having so much fun. I don't remember if I've told you, I've decided on my grandfather name. I've thought long and hard about it. Now, I know everybody says if she starts calling you something else, you just got to go with that. So it may change.

But I thought long and hard about it. And the Holy Spirit, we learned from Paul in Romans 8, bears witness to our spirit that we're children of God by which we call out Abba, Father. So in America, we might have the first words of a baby to call a father might be dada. And so we get daddy. But in a lot of cultures, especially in some Middle Eastern cultures, they realize that one of the easiest things a baby says and they say early on is Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba. And so Abba is an Aramaic expression for daddy. And it's extraordinary to think of this, that God, by the Holy Spirit, wants to not only bear witness to your spirit that you're a child of God, but does so in a way that you become like a little toddler.

And the way that you would think of God as your father is not as the great omnipotent, omnipresent, paternal presence, but as daddy, Abba. Oh, it's just fun all week long, just getting to play with this baby. I love babies. That's love babies, you know.

I've found little things. One thing I love about little Mia is that she she'll let you love her, just she'll let you love her. She's on the move and she's thinking that she's doing this. But if you're showing her some affection, she's got a way she can just lean into it. And one of the things I've just, you know, you find these silly, stupid little things you do and a grandparent will do anything to get the baby to smile or be happy. And one of these things that I don't know how to discover, I had her up just close to my face like this and around on her cheek and near her ear and then back on her neck.

And I'm doing this sort of helicopter like sound like. I don't know if it's kind of tickles her when I do it or it sounds funny, but I'll just go all over the background and she'll just lean back into it. She'll press herself into the into her. I like watching her. I like watching her with my wife because my wife, she's she's just a master with little kids. And so one day we're just sitting in the couch sitting in the couch on the beach and at the beach and and and has got these silly sunglasses only got her tongue way out, making these funny faces.

I don't know me. I thought it was funny. She starts laughing. We're all just laughing twice. Mia fell over laughing. One time we were always laughing like this and Bennett was there.

He had to work some of the days and he's up in another room working, but he hears the laughing comes running down just because he's a dad who doesn't want to miss his baby laughing. I like I like watching the baby. I like watching a baby with her dad. I like watching Mia with with Bennett.

Bennett's got Bennett's got a beard and and Mia Mia. She'll she'll she'll like to be held by him. And sometimes she likes to touch things with her, not just her hands, but her feet. And I guess it tickles. Sometimes she'll she'll be grabbing at his face and she'll take her feet up all into his beard.

And. It's it's extraordinary thing. Because like any father is a thousand times stronger than that baby. And if he were evil, of course, he could crush her, squash her without hardly any effort. But instead, what does he do?

He uses his superior strength to bless his child. He's a thousand times a thousand times more knowledgeable than this baby. And he could use all of that knowledge. To simply outmaneuver her or manipulate her. But what he's really using all that superior knowledge is to organize and work. On her behalf, doing what she doesn't even know that he's doing on her behalf.

It is. An extraordinary thing to think of, but. Most of what most of what a father does for a baby, the baby never even knows how much more so has your father, your Abba. Been at work with his superior strength and superior intelligence on your behalf. The reason the Holy Spirit as his first. Work in the believer's life after we're regenerated. The Holy Spirit's first work after bearing witness to Christ is to bear witness to you that you're a child of God. So you begin to feel like a toddler in the arms of God, such that you could you could call out to the creator of the cosmos, Abba, Dada. The reason the Holy Spirit so wants to convince you of that is because when you know that he is your Dada.

When you see him that way. You can believe Romans 828. There's no point in trying to think about what all the rest of this means. If you don't think much of God as your father. Eminent theologian of last century, J.I. Packer said, if you want to see some measure of a person's understanding of the gospel and what it means to be a Christian, then look and see how much they make of God being their father.

And he also had this to say. That God, before he made us, was infinitely happy in and of himself. But when he made us and then adopted us as his children. According to the scriptures, the heart of God is so tied up with our own well-being that in the words of theologian J.I. Packer, God has tied up his own happiness with ours.

And we'll not know. In his own divine heart, unmixed happiness, Packer says, until he has all of his children out of trouble. This is the love of God. This is how Romans 828 is possible. It is because it is for those who are not in the world of God is possible. It is because it is for those who are the children of God. In other words, those that love God. And he says in that verse are called according to his purpose. And so these are two synonymous phrases.

They're saying the same thing. Those who love God. That's another way of saying Christian and those who are called according to his purpose is another Christian. To be called, it is to say that the spirit of God intercedes through us, according to verse 27. Because the spirit intercedes for the saints, according to the will of God, which is a way of saying the desires of God, the highest and best for you, that which is in God's heart is God's highest and best towards you. And you are indwelt by the spirit of God who wants the best for you. And so is praying through you and within you in this divine mystery of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, wherein you have been called up in this divine intercession. And the Holy Spirit is not only saying to you, you're a, you're a little toddler in the arms of God, but is also interceding for you according to the call of God, according to the purposes that God has for your life. In other words, there is a beautiful destination that God has for you. And that destination is ultimately being conformed to the very image of Christ. And God has called you into this. It means therefore that all of this is rooted, not in your call to God nearly as much as it is God's call unto you.

That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. It has been called the most influential letter ever written. Every word written by the Apostle Paul and his epistle to the Romans is dripping with the astounding news of what God has done for you in Jesus. Answering the two biggest questions of life, what went wrong and how has God made it right? Discover the richness of those answers and enhance your Bible journey today. Make a donation to Alan Wright Ministries this month and unlock our Romans reading guide paired with the ESV scripture journal. Immerse yourself in the word and capture personal insights, prayers, and reflections directly alongside the powerful text.

These sleek portable journals amplify your study, enrich group sessions, and deepen personal reflections. Elevate your spiritual odyssey and forge a stronger connection with the scriptures. Help Alan Wright Ministries reach the world with the good news of the gospel with your gift today and receive these essential tools that will elevate your study, enrich your prayer life, and deepen your understanding of the book of Romans. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. And God's call is unlike other vague types of invitations.

God's call is not like something rooted in a take it or leave it, or it's not rooted in a kind of a fear. It's rooted in something that is powerful and compelling to us. I've told this before, and it can seem a little braggadocious. Therefore, it bears repeating that we had a dog named Recy. Abby, our daughter, was the greatest lover of the beagle. And so she fretted over that beagle, loved that beagle, played with that beagle more than anyone else. And when she was little, one day I get a call at the office on a Wednesday night, dark outside, wintry.

And she's hysterical. She's saying, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, I know we need you. We need you. So what's going on? She said, she said, Recy, Recy is right back behind some bushes and trees.

And there's a raccoon or something that's hissing at it. And I'm afraid it's going to hurt Recy. And we can't, we're calling them. We're doing everything. We don't know what to do.

And we can't go back there because we might get in the middle of the fight and get hurt. What are we going to do? I said, I'll be right there. I closed up my office.

I only lived at that time, five minutes away. And I go home and I've got some confidence that I'm going to be able to be the dad and I'm going to be able to fix this thing. I get back there and I, and I think about all the things we might be able to do. I thought about getting the water hose and spraying, whatever the wild animal, raccoon or whatever back there hissing and fighting and everything.

I thought about that. And I thought, but first thing I'm going to do is I'm just going to go over here. I'm going to call this dog. And I go over there and I can hear all this. And I said, Recy, come. Well, nothing happened.

And they're like, dad, that's not going to work. You got, we've been calling and we've been calm. I just silenced the crowd.

I said, Recy, come here. And then the barking quietened and slowly threw the bushes out of the dark corner of the yard. This beagle comes slinking towards me and I reached down and grabbed him by the collar. And I start leading them in the house while my family is sitting there stunned.

Ann, Bennett, Abby, everybody watching. And they're like, how did you do that? What, what did you do?

How? And I just walked proudly by them and I said, it just proves I am the alpha dog. And I went on to say, there is a kind of call there is a kind of call that has an effect. And the effect of the call of God is calling you unto himself ultimately, and calling you into a, a new destination. And the thing about the call of God is that it is not like so many of the human calls that are either wishy washy or powerless. And it's not like a call that you respond to because you're afraid of the consequences. This is not like my mom. When I was a kid playing kick the can on Pine top road with the neighborhood kids and my mom calling in Alan bedtime come in and I'll be, Oh, just one more game, you know?

And I just keep playing. Wouldn't want to listen to her, but eventually Alan, come on, changing her voice because I knew that there was always the threat of the fly swatter. Yes. Yes. I had a mother who was nearly perfect in every way, but, but really I got spanked with a fly swatter had bug juice on it and stuff.

I do not spank your children with a fly swatter. Anyway, I have a little tinge of fear. So I'd come when my mother called eventually that's not the call of God. No God God's call has saving and blessing power in it. And, and, and God's call is sort of like a, when he created things and he saw the darkness and the darkness by itself is not good. And so he, he called the light forth. Let there be light. Oh, light already. God was already light. I don't think he was inventing light. I think he was just saying like, come over here, come over here, put you in this sun right now.

Let there be light. Jesus spoke like this. So he go to a tomb of a man who'd been dead for several days. While people are weeping, he just said, Lazarus, come out.

And dead man came walking. I'm talking about the call of God has light and life in it. That's what we want. We want to have the call of God come down deep and resonate within us. So you know that God is your Abba, your dada who has superior intelligence and superior power and is using it on your behalf and who he wants you. And he tries to convince you through the presence of the Holy Spirit to be in his arms like a toddler is comfortable with a daddy that you could enjoy him and benefit from fellowship with him and love him.

And then he calls. So the blessing of being assured that God's at work to bring things together for good is for those that are believers, those that love him and those that are called. That's what it means to be a believer.

There's no such thing to be a believer if you haven't been called by God. And it's for the good. It doesn't say that the things of this world are all good. Some things are bad. It doesn't say that this means that everything's good. He's saying the world itself might have bad things and indeed it might be totally falling apart at any moment except for God holding it together. So as Christians, we don't have to pretend like, oh, yeah, no, all's good.

That's not what this is saying. I like the way Tim Keller put it, only God makes the world good. He's saying the world makes the factors of life turn to our good. Christians do not believe the world is a nice place or that life by nature will be happy. Many Christians are shocked and disillusioned by the tragedies and hardness of life.

I mean, sorry, many people are shocked and disillusioned by the tragedies and hardness of life, but not Christians. We don't expect things in life to simply work for good of their own accord. When we find things working out beneficially for us, it's all God, all grace, all Him. When things work out, Keller says, Christians never say, of course, that's as it should be.

Rather, they praise God for it. So the text doesn't say that bad things are good. It says God works all things, even the bad things, towards good. Doesn't mean there's a good thing that my dad left home when I was a kid. It just means God took a bad thing, ended up bringing about great good. I wouldn't be preaching here, except for that, you see. And your life's the same way. So on the one hand, we must never say, oh, nothing good can come from this.

That's just biblically incorrect. But on the other hand, we don't ever need to say suffering is good, so we should just embrace it. Again, Keller, difficulties are not to be enjoyed or welcomed.

They're not good, but their results can be. And it's about all things. Doesn't mean that all things are good, but all things. And that includes the bad things, and that therefore includes even our own folly and our own sin.

As bad as it is, as bad as our sin is, as bad as our rebellion is, God's able to take even that. And so the stories of the Bible are just over and over giving us pictures of how that which was bad ends up being good because of the providence of God. There's stories of Joseph, whose evil brothers sell him into slavery, but that's what gets him to Egypt. And when he gets in the prison, that's where he meets the former cupbearer to the king so that the cupbearer one day remembers Joseph so that Joseph then has a chance to interpret a dream for Pharaoh so Pharaoh can appoint Joseph into leadership of Egypt so he can wisely administrate and govern so they save up grain during the years of plenty, so during the years of famine, they can have grain for the whole world. And then Joseph's own brothers come and they get grain from him so Joseph can forgive them. And the reason he can forgive them is he knows that though you meant it for evil, God meant it for good.

There is a way that God takes all things. Alan Wright, our Good News message, the big setup from the series More Than Conquerors, the study of Romans 8. And Pastor Alan is back here in the studio in just a moment for today's parting Good News thoughts.

Stick with us. It has been called the most influential letter ever written. Every word written by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans is dripping with the astounding news of what God has done for you in Jesus, answering the two biggest questions of life.

What went wrong and how has God made it right? Discover the richness of those answers and enhance your Bible journey today. Make a donation to Alan Wright Ministries this month and unlock our Romans reading guide paired with the ESV scripture journal. Immerse yourself in the word and capture personal insights, prayers and reflections directly alongside the powerful text.

These sleek, portable journals amplify your study, enrich group sessions and deepen personal reflections. Elevate your spiritual odyssey and forge a stronger connection with the scriptures. Help Alan Wright Ministries reach the world with the good news of the gospel with your gift today and receive these essential tools that will elevate your study, enrich your prayer life and deepen your understanding of the book of Romans. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Back here now in the studio to share our parting good news thought from the day from Pastor Alan and the big setup. So in the, well pardon the pun, setup of the message, you featured a video. I call it domino effect kind of stuff, but I love the, it is very elaborate backyard setup. This one particular guy on YouTube teenager named Cree gathered a bunch of household items, lawn chair, dart board, paint can skateboard, everything to create what's called technically a Rube Goldberg machine, you know, series of actions, you know, set in motion like dominoes, but one thing touches another touches another. It started with a basketball through a hoop, I think. And then it just had all these household items.

It was so elaborate, been viewed millions and millions of times on YouTube. And the reason I play it is like, our lives are more like that than we realize. God is outside of time and he is able to arrange for blessings that you wouldn't think that this, what happens today might be linked to a blessing that's going to come days from now or years from now. And, but that's what I believe Paul is affirming here in Romans chapter eight, when he talks about the predestining power of God. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.