All believers are heaven bound. All believers are predestined. It's been decided long before the foundations of the world. God has decided those who believe in me will be with me for all eternity. To be conformed into the image of his son reshaped into Christ's likeness. Initially God made man as his own image.
The fall ruined that. Well, Christianity is the process of getting back to God's original intention. About cross reference radio.
Specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Now here's Pastor Rick in the book of John Chapter 11. He'll begin there and then continue into Romans Chapter 8 with his message called Heaven Bound. One hundred percent God still. Physically one hundred percent human. And there he is moved by what moves us.
Not insensitive. He is not idle. He has his timetable. He knows what he wants to do.
And he will not be steered away from it. Paul's descriptive words depicting sin's impact upon creation is revealing. In verse 18 it was suffering.
What do you add to that? In verse 20 futility. That's a form of suffering for something to be useless. If you've ever been assigned a useless task, you get frustrated. What are we doing this for?
So imagine going through that in life spiritually. But as Christians our walk is not to be futile. Not to be meaningless. We're to have targets. We're to have things to do.
We're just wandering around. We build ourselves up. We let the Lord open the doors so that he can use what we've built up. In verse 21 he mentions bondage and corruption. In verse 22 the groans and the pangs.
Sin's impact on creation. Verse 27, now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. This is the Godhead in rhythm, in unity. There's no division in the Godhead. A kingdom that is divided, Jesus said, cannot stand.
Well, God's kingdom cannot fall. And, you know, you want that in the home. You want that in the ministry. You want that in your relationships.
Can two walk together lest they agree? We want this unity of spirit. We don't always get it. We cannot get it without going into sin. We have options.
We can do things differently. But God has committed to our salvation and the sanctification. And they're not the same thing.
Well, they are and they are not. You can say when sanctification includes salvation, it most certainly does, but it goes beyond salvation because then what happens? All right, you give your life to Christ.
Now what? Well, Christ's likeness is now what? The development of the conversion. And that's called sanctification. First Thessalonians chapter four, for this is the will of God, your sanctification. God wants you to be better at serving him all the time. That's a never-ending process in this life.
And we should be delighted by that. Thus the gates of hell shall not prevail. Matthew 6, for your heavenly Father knows what you need, that you need all these things. And I'm quoting that verse in connection to Romans 8 27. He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. If you have a God that has to learn or doesn't know everything, you have an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny God that's not a God at all. It's something you've concocted. You know, this is part of the problem. Have you ever spoken, I don't know if you, I don't find them too many, too much, at least around here, I haven't, but have you ever spoken to a new-ager? They'll tell you, well, we're all gods.
Oh yeah? What's my PIN number? If you can't tell me that, you can't be God because God knows everything. He knows that you're dumb for even thinking that you're a God.
There's a way out of that. But this is man when he makes his idols. They're all defective.
They're all deformed because they're like the ones who make the idols. And the ones who make the idols are sinners, subject to the fall in creation, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Would you have anybody else's will?
How about your neighbor? I wouldn't want my neighbor's will to be pushed upon me, but I don't mind God's will, at least I hope I don't. Joseph, in the book of Genesis, never blamed God for the injustices that God allowed in his life.
Joseph suffered for upholding God's principles. I would be saying, God, you think a little help here? I'm being righteous, I'm standing up for your word.
Where's the help? Instead, he saw God as an ally nonetheless. How does hell beat that?
When the Christians were flogged in the book of Acts, they were praising God. How does hell do anything about that? Well, hell will wait for the next generation, try to pick them off. You young teens, you get that?
Mom and dad loving the Lord, what about you? You think it's going to be automatic? It's not. You better get to work, a lot to be done.
We need you to step up. This recognizing that God was his ally in the midst of the hardship that he endured for righteousness sake, allowed Joseph to find himself in God's will. So we read in Genesis 41, Joseph speaking.
You know the story was sold by his brothers, his green-eyed brothers who were jealous about him into slavery. They were going to kill him and care what happened to him, all because he was godly and a little naive, but godly nonetheless. And then, of course, this Potiphar's wife, he had to deal with her, the Bible says, day by day until finally she sprung her trap. Hell has no fury like a person in the flesh, never mind a woman scorned.
Anybody that gets in the flesh can launch the fury of hell. Anyway, Genesis 41, 40, the Pharaoh says to him, you shall be over my house and all my people shall be ruled according to your word, only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. That's what Joseph got out of the hardship, the number two position in a superpower.
And he made use of it. He saved his family. David, he suffered at the hands of a green-eyed king.
Joseph's brothers were jealous of him and that's what the green eye is, jealousy. King Saul was jealous of David. Remember the women came out thinking they were doing David a favor. Saul has killed his thousands.
Yeah, that's me. David has killed his tens of thousands. Oh man, that was it.
The keg was lit by that one. David suffered at the hands of that green-eyed king, but David became the king of Israel and the sweet psalmist of Israel. And man, how many lessons are wrapped up in the life of David.
David is associated with the new Jerusalem, well Jerusalem on Christ's return, geographical Jerusalem, where the kingdom will be set up on earth as opposed to the new Jerusalem that comes from heaven. Verse 28, for we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Well, I'm not going to try to exhaust this verse, I don't think.
You can't. There's just too much here, so we'll have to skim over. It's a super verse in the Bible. All Christians, when they come across this verse, I don't think they ever forget it.
Even if they don't memorize it, they know it's there. But how many don't know that all things work together for the good? How many don't believe? Well, we all have our moments, even as believers, when something happens to us and it's just hard to deal with it, and we do have to fight doubt hand to hand. Sometimes we can fight doubt from a distance, sometimes we're not dealing with it at all, but there are those times in our life, if you stick around long enough, well you are going to go hand to hand with doubt.
But you shall overcome. God does not cause all things, but he can use all things. That's the difference. God did not cause Satan to be Satan. He doesn't cause somebody to commit some egregious crime, but he uses those things. And the faithful know it. God can have us dodge a bullet. God can have us survive a bullet.
I'd rather dodge it. Or he can take us home by a bullet. None of that takes away from who he is, his sovereignty, his love. God can make pain count.
And he does if given the chance. It's a whole message of the cross. He causes all things to work together for good.
So God is the author of solution, righteous solutions. It's interesting when Samson, God did not disallow Samson from having a roving eye. Samson did not want to date one of the nice Jewish girls. He wanted one of the Philistines, the enemies of God's people.
And the parents of course, rightfully so, bent out of shape on that. But the historian adds this in Judges 14, but his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, that he was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines, for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. God says, I'm not causing him to like these girls, but I'm not going to stop him either. What would happen if God every time he had to stop something, well we might as well just end this whole thing and just take us all to heaven. He doesn't do it that way.
He lets things run their course very often and we're kind of upset when he doesn't interfere sometimes. Well anyway, he says, no I'm going to let Samson go ahead and do this and I'm going to use it. And that's what the story of Samson is. Samson brought those things upon himself, no pun intended, but he brought the palace down upon himself.
God used it, used all of it. It's interesting, Samson doesn't say, God let me bring this palace down and escape death. He goes down with it. And that little boy was there to witness the whole thing and tell the story. I wonder what ever happened to that lad. I think we'll see him in heaven. Anyway, somebody be upset at that. Don't be that guy that just, no we got to find a way to get that kid in hell. You don't have to do that.
You can look for the sunshine, you know, you can look for solutions and say, you know what, I lean this way. I don't know if King Saul is in heaven. I don't hope he's in hell, but I'll be surprised if he's in heaven. But I'm not going to voice my opinion there.
What is he doing here? You know, we're rooting for people to be delivered from the wrath of God. We're not trying to find a way to damn souls. That's none of our business.
Our business is to preach the word and to uphold righteousness as best we can. And each other when we stumble, he says here to those who love him, well this membership is required. God used Pharaoh, but it didn't benefit Pharaoh because Pharaoh did not have membership. He didn't want it. He could have said to Moses, now that was an impressive miracle.
How do I get to belong to your God? That's all he had to say. Instead, he doubled down. And God said, I'll let him double down.
Fine. That's what you want, you got it. That's why we pray, Lord, not my will, your will.
What do I know about what I want on a whole range of things? But you know, to those who are called according to his purpose, this elevates it, not only to those who love him, but to those who are working for his purposes. Judas was called, but he forfeited his call. But for the Christian, 1 Corinthians 1, 24, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Well, sometimes the power of God involves being caned and retaining your faith. Sometimes it means being fed to the lions and going out like a believer. Not all the martyrs in history went out in a gallant way. Some of them had no choice, none of them had a choice really, but you know, they just suffered and died. Some of the others went out with a statement. So, just the reality that surrounds the hardship in this world is something that we as Christians do not try to sweep under the rug. We try to accept it as it is. Now that doesn't mean they went out as cowards.
I'm not at all suggesting that. I'm just saying some went out gallantly. For example, the stories of those who were thrown to the lions. Well, some of them ran to the lions, you know, like let's get this over with.
And others waited for the lions to pounce on them, not that they were wrong. Well, coming back to Romans, Romans 8 verse 29, for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Well, who are those whom he foreknew? Well, those of verse 28 that loved him, called according to his purposes. This is all flowing together.
It's not disconnected. God was not surprised when you opened your heart to his son. He didn't go, huh, I never would have thought you.
I thought maybe this guy, but not you, because he foreknew it. He's not surprised by traitors or naysayers. Boy, I was so hoping that guy would get saved. Well, God does want everyone to be saved, but he's not surprised when they reject him. Judas was not a surprise to him. Jesus called it.
You know, he's the one that betrayed me, sitting with me. Be better if he wasn't born. God knows everything, so of course he foreknew. All of God's knowledge is foreknowledge. All of God's attributes are sovereign attributes. Sovereign love, sovereign justice, sovereign mercy, everything about him is sovereign. He is not the cause or the blame for the things he knows, and that's what we can't lose sight of. Just because he knows it and allows it doesn't make him guilty. The whole story of Job, God knew it, God allowed it. God actually stirred the pot, did he not? Hey, have you seen Job?
Magnificent! And Satan will see about this. Well, they did see. And that book of Job is there for us. And again, skip everything Elihu has to say. You just don't need to hear it, and you'll get through the book a lot better. It's just, you know, it's like God is saying with the speech of Elihu, not Elihu, Elihu. God is saying through the speech, you know, there are blowhards on earth. Because, anyway, God doesn't even address him when it's over. Anyhow, there's my little vent. Because I get annoyed that I got to read through that when I read Job.
I disagree with him the whole time, I want to throw something at him. It's like watching, you know, something on the news. I was watching something on the news, and it's like, they're not interested in a story. They just want to hear, they just want to talk to you. They just want the show to be about them.
They didn't get their hair done up like that so they could cut to the scene. They want you to look at them. And I'm screaming at Elihu, just get to the point. What happened? 20 minutes later, you know, you're giving them an earthquake. Well, anyhow, maybe I'm the only one that has that frustration.
Where am I? You don't have this, you don't have frustration when you're watching Looney Tunes. I've noticed that. It's just a degree of satisfaction about seeing a piano fall on somebody that you don't like, and they're not dead.
They get up. It's like, oh man, that was good. So anyway, we're in verse 29. Whom he foreknew in the knowledge of God, that he's not the cause of it. Who has a God with limited knowledge? I covered that already. If your God has limited knowledge, you've got the wrong one.
You need to change teams. He also predestined. This is blessed assurance. This makes us heaven bound. We know where we're going. So if you get on a flight and you're going, I don't know, I can't think of anywhere on earth I'd like to fly to, but let's just say the plane's going to heaven. That's where it's predestined to go. Doctrines are formed after consulting the whole scripture on a subject. John chapter 14. This is where they were predestined to go.
In my father's house there are many dwellings. If it weren't so, I would not have told you. I love that phrase. He didn't have to add that. He didn't have to say, I don't have to tell you this, but he did. He says, I don't have to tell you this, but I am telling you because it is so incredible. If it were not so, I would not have told you.
I wouldn't get your hopes up, but I'm getting your hopes up. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. They were predestined to go to heaven by faith in Jesus Christ. There's salvation in no other name given among men under heaven by which we must be saved.
Predestined is not random selection. It's destiny created by choice. Acts 16, again to Philippi, believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. He could have said, believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be destined. You'll be heaven bound.
That's the same thing. You're saved. To go to heaven is to be saved. All believers are heaven bound. All believers are predestined. It's been decided long before the foundations of the world, God had decided those who believe in me will be with me for all eternity. To be conformed into the image of his son, reshaped into Christ's likeness. Initially God made man as his own image.
The fall ruined that. Well, Christianity is the process of getting back to God's original intention and it is concluded when we get to heaven. Being conformed is to God more important than being comfortable.
But the comfortable is not a bad thing. We're not stoics. We just try to do what we're told what the mission calls for. Church going is not enough. Even Satan goes to church.
We know that. So guard against information without transformation. Satan has information, but he's not transformed. He knows the Bible like any of you, more so, but he is still the devil and he'll always be the devil. That he might be the firstborn among many brethren. This is referring to Christ, the one who predestined us to be conformed to the image of his son.
That's Christ's likeness. This is not a start for Christ. Firstborn speaks of his preeminence. He's self-existent.
There's no start for him. Christ doesn't have a birthday. He has a day that he was born of Mary, but he existed before then. Firstborn speaks again of preeminence. Colossians 1. Speaking of Jesus, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Firstborn over creation, not of creation, nor in creation. He is over it all.
Well, I have a lot more there, but I want to just stop with this. Lazarus, he was raised from the dead, but he did not receive a glorified body. He had to die again.
He was limited in that body. When Christ rose from the dead, he jettisoned this body and he has a glorified body and walking through walls and things like that. So this is what's going to happen to us. We are going to receive a glorified body, which is the final step of our sanctification through all eternity. Verse 30.
Moreover whom he predestined, these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified, whom he justified, he also glorified. Well, to believe, as I mentioned, is to be heaven bound. Predestination always has to do with the future of the believer. It never interferes with our power of choice or moral accountability. You cannot say, well, I was predestined to steal these things.
No, that won't work. You have a choice and you are accountable for those choices, but if you choose Christ, you are predestined to, of course, be in heaven. These he also called. There's the invitation to be saved. Sinners are called. They're not abducted.
There's a big difference. God doesn't say, I'm calling you, whether you like it or not, you're going to heaven. Why do I even have to say that?
Well, some of you know why. We'll be coming up on, you know, areas of scripture and I am determined not to mention Calvinism. I'm not going to mention it today either. I'm just determined.
God give me strength. Unless he says, no, I want you to bash it, then, then, it's on. But I don't think he's leading me in that direction. So you know now, well, how come he isn't doing what he likes to do? Because God is restraining him.
Why? Because he's a noodle head. That's why God has to restrain him. Anyway, yeah, you don't want to turn the pulpit into your, you know, hobby horse of doctrines. Anyway, coming back to this, whom he called these he also justified. So God saves the one who accepts the invitation. Judas was called, but he discontinued. Don't go blaming God for Judas' choice.
God just called it. This is what's going to happen. I'm going to give this guy every chance.
Chance more than most people. Look what he's going to do with it. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. So those saved are those eternally changed.
Now we don't have time, but you can reference the parable of Matthew in chapter 22 of Matthew, the first 12 verses or so. And there he talks about the invitation to the wedding. And then he talks about one of the guests that was a non-conformist. He really expected to be rewarded for not conforming to the master. And he was cast out and it was weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus closed that section with, many are called, but few are chosen. How do you get chosen? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Isn't that tricky? Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.
We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again, or want to listen to others like it, head over to CrossReferenceRadio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too, so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website, you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross Reference Radio. So make a note of it, CrossReferenceRadio.com. That's all we have time for today, but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans here on Cross Reference Radio.
