 So with that said we're going to be looking today at Romans chapter 8 verses 28 to the end of the chapter to verse 39. So I'll begin reading in Romans 8 at verse 28 and I'll read to verse 30 and we'll get into our study developing an introduction bringing a review of some of the things we've seen here in the eighth chapter and then moving through the chapter. So beginning at verse 28 reading to verse 30 Paul writes, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those or the called according to his purpose 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 more over whom he predestined these he also called whom he called these he also justified and whom he justified these he also glorified. Now as we've been going through chapter 8 remember with me that Paul had just written that nature Christians and the Holy Spirit all grown in verse 22 he had said nature groans for the revelation of the sons of God in verse 23 he had said Christians grown as we wait for redemption to be completed and in verse 26 he had said the Holy Spirit groans as he makes intercession on our behalf and so because of this Paul has is giving encouragement he's giving an encouragement we'll see this in a moment he's giving encouragement to believers in other words no matter what they're enduring no matter what they will endure God is working with them and no matter how it may appear God is in and remains in total control now he's already been alluding to troubles in the believer's life including himself his own life he had said in chapter 8 verse 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and so he spoke concerning troubles afflictions problems sufferings and persecutions and afflictions he's saying are part of the walk that we have with the Lord so believers including himself are not excluded from these kinds of things Peter says it like this in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 12 when the apostle Peter was writing he said beloved do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you so when he said do not think it's strange that word strange speaks of being startled don't be startled by so don't think it to be strange concerning the fiery trial that is trying you as though some strange use the word strange again but this time it meant unusual so don't think it's strange don't be startled concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange or some unusual thing happened to you in other words trials afflictions persecutions difficulties are just part of being alive it's just part of being a believer it's just part of life itself you see when enduring those kinds of things it is easy to lose hope that's why he said that believers are to remain faithful trusting in the Lord and so as he's been developing this Paul is now giving a deeper word of encouragement and he does so in verse 28 he begins there and this is what he says again verse 28 we know that all things work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose in spite of how it may appear at the moment where you can know one thing God is at work you know there are advantages to being a Christian for a long time I've been a Christian for a while now a long time comparatively I've been a Christian since 1970 I'm going on 53 years 53 years of walking with the Lord and you know that that there's advantage to that there's an advantage to growing older in Christ mellowing out in Jesus if you will and I've shared this I was sharing this recently with uh with a younger member of the body of Christ here I was sharing that just this recent just recently and I said just that I said there's a good thing getting older is a good thing and I said let me tell you why because when you're younger as I have been you think that things have to change right now or they never will I said the fact of the matter is is that you give it time and everything works out for the good you have to give it time I think that sometimes we can be anxious we want things done now we want changes now we want to be delivered now and sometimes the work that God is doing in us is going to take a little bit of time and so it's better to remain still awaiting the Lord to do his work than it is to be moving around and hindering it when I was 14 I got my appendix removed I was there laying on that operating table they had given me some uh you know anesthesia and as I was laying there I still remember very vividly all these years later how the doctor who was above right here above me said scalpel and I awakened when he said scalpel and I saw the nurse hand him the scalpel and I saw him plunge it in my side yeah I fainted I mean I didn't stay awake the second I saw him plunge it now one of the things I learned through that is you never move during an operation right you don't move during an operation but we like to move when the Holy Spirit operates on us when the Lord brings out his scalpel to remove something that's going to kill us or is dangerous to us we like to move all over dodging it it's I learned a long time ago remain still while the surgeon does his work remain still be still and know that I am God allow God to do his work all things work together for the good of those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose they do work together and Paul is speaking concerning those things and so in spite of how it may appear at the moment you know one thing now when he says we know that all things that word no again I did a little little more looking at the Greek the original language I want to get more precise understanding that word no says it is translated that we can have absolute certainty you can know with absolute certainty you can know one thing God is in control he is saying God causes everything that we experience to produce good results in our lives it's hard to believe sometimes isn't it but it's true he allows everything we experience to ultimately produce good now he had just written in verse 26 that we don't always know how to pray but in spite of this we can know that all things are working together for good now when he says all things work together for good he's pointing to life in general he's not giving us permission to go out and sin expecting good to be the result he isn't saying that willful sinning will result in good he is saying that in our lives as we live for the Lord that he cares for us and even when things are working against us he is working on our behalf you see God would never permit evil if he could not bring good out of it so whatever we encounter God can redeem in Psalm 46 verses 1 and 2 God is our refuge and strength a very present help and trouble therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea we will not fear that's something to remember isn't it because i believe that the enemy uses fear to capture people and manipulate people constantly we've gone through a season of that haven't we with the covid thing and all the false reporting and the various things that kept us confused and controlled that's what happened there was a very real virus but what was being said wasn't accurate and we discovered that over time and so he can't be controlled by fear all things do work together now when he says all things work together i look that up but what does work together it's a it's a word that we are we are familiar with synergy synergize it speaks of cooperation so working together is synergy he's saying all things combine to produce good now this is not good produced by the events alone the events occur but the Lord causes them to bring about good there's an example and i wrote this down because i want to read this to make sure that i don't be labor this so i'll just read it an example of this is found in the book of genesis in reference to a joseph who was the son of jacob joseph was born of jacob and rachel he was jacob's favorite causing his brothers to become jealous of him now he had two dreams and after having those dreams and sharing them with the family his brothers out of hatred had sold him into slavery and he was taken to egypt well in egypt he was sold to a eunuch named potifer potifer's wife attempted to seduce joseph and joseph was imprisoned falsely while imprisoned he had the opportunity of interpreting two dreams one for a butler the other for the baker two years later he was released from prison he was made pharaoh's prime minister well he was in that office he was reunited with his brothers and when he revealed himself to his brothers they became afraid because they had sold him and they thought that he would take revenge on them we all know that story but genesis chapter 50 verses 18 through 20 says it like this his brothers also went and fell down before his face and they said behold we are your servants and joseph said to them do not be afraid for am i in the place of god but as for you this is beautiful you meant evil against me but god meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive he was falsely imprisoned spent 13 years in prison from the time he was 17 till he was 30 years of age he was elevated to a position of authority ultimately the brothers who sold him into slavery came needing help he could have taken revenge but he didn't because he had an eternal framework he said you meant it for evil but god intended it for good keep that in mind keep that in mind because there are times in our lives there are circumstances we will endure things that occur that we could wonder how could we ever see any good come out of this but all things work together for good to those who love the lord remember that you may need to know that on the way home tonight you may need to know that tomorrow next week just remember that all things work together what they intended for evil god intended for good so he says all things work together for good all things working together can produce blessings why well they can refine us and they also cause us to grow in our understanding of god's mercy we learn the ways of the lord as we go through things and sometimes those lessons that we learn well they do take some time and so where they're crying out to the lord i don't know how to pray god i'm making groanings the spirit is interceding i don't know what to expect and god says all things will work together for good if you love me so they work together and they give us insight into god's goodness they bring us into a much clearer perspective understanding it's like what jobe said in chapter 42 verses five and six when he had said i i have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you therefore i abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes when you look at job you see that job is in chapter one chapter two he has spoken of as being a righteous man a very very righteous man and yet this is a man that is a picture of walking by faith and not by sight i've heard of you with the hearing of my ear and out of what i knew of you and had learned of you i was obedient too but now i see you with the seeing of my eye now i see what you really are like in the midst of all the sufferings and losses that joe went through he says i've discovered that you're good and i didn't realize that until i went through affliction until i went through the things that i've gone through and so all things are working together for good to those notice who love god so in life there are basically two categories of people those who love god and those who don't you need to know that there isn't a place of neutrality either you're for him or you're against him there are people who think that they can be kind of spiritual switzerland's neutral and and you can't be jesus said it like this in matthew 12 verse 30 he said he who is not with me is against me he who gathers not with me scatters abroad he didn't leave any gap he said either you are or you're not like a man could say to a woman will say you're not a little pregnant either you are or you're not but if a man does say that to a woman you better be sure she is because i remember when our church was very young i was standing in the back and people were filing out and i used to say hi how are you and this and that and here comes a woman i knew kind of and i never did it before i promise i never have done it again but i padded her tummy yeah i did and i said and when are you do i'm not pregnant uh anyway see never sorry again yeah so be careful but with that said we better get back to the to the bible study to those who love god how do we know we love him how can you know this love isn't simply an emotion we know that love is a decision of the will love isn't based on how i'm feeling at the moment love is based on a variety of things but it's usually my it's a decision you make the decision to love and then you act out those things that you've decided to do so how can i know how can i know that i have love for god let me give you a few things one how do i know that i love god one is i'm obedient to him i'm obedient to him jesus said in john 14 15 if you love me what keep my commandments if you love me keep my commandments and so in first john five verse three john said this is love for god to obey his commands and his commands are not burdensome they're not grievous they're not hard to bear when you're in love love makes things light when you love the lord you are obedient to him another thing second thing is you desire close fellowship with him it's like what it says in psalm 63 verse one you god are my god earnestly i seek you i thirst for you i hold bean longs for you in a dry and parched land where there's no water so i long for you i have a relationship with you i have fellowship with you i love you i want to obey you and i long for you i enjoy my fellowship with you a third thing is we love his word like it says in psalm 119 verse 97 oh how i love your law it is my meditation all the day i love your word i long for it i thirst for it i love fellowship with you and i love your word a fourth thing is is we love people ah it's easy to love those who love you isn't it it really is it's difficult to show love to those who mock you some of you were how many of you may i ask this before i give this uh how many of you were in first services and just if you were here would you raise your hand so i kind of know okay first service i'm assuming that others if you came to church went to second service and if you didn't come to church but anyway we had people who were out there who were kind of harassing you know so we went i went out in between first and second and i spoke to him and uh he put me on his uh his little uh feed and uh just blurred out i guess the things i was telling him and i was telling second service that i that i went and shared the gospel with him i went spoke to him and we had people from our church some of the guys who came and gave him water because it was hot so he drank that's what you do you know if you and we'll see this in in romans but if you're if you're if you're enemy and he's an enemy to us apparently is thirsty you give him something to drink it's hot you know here here's some water drink i hope you drown on it but we love you as we're giving it to you but do you love people do you love people do you love people yeah by this shall all men know you are my disciples if you have love one for another jesus said it's not uh it's not where i serve and it's how many things i do it's do i love people and so that's something that you pray for i i pray that quite a not quite often because those are things that are evidences that you that you love the lord you know so those who love god these are things that that demonstrate that there's a love in their heart for him so he says that in verse 28 he says to those who love god to those he says who are called according to his purpose so god is the one who has called us he he called us by the gospel the preaching and proclamation of of salvation through christ we heard it outwardly and we inwardly obeyed it he called us according to his purpose when it says according to his purpose that speaks of his plan his divine plan and so he called us according to his purpose his divine plan so the question is what's the divine plan what is his purpose well verse 29 whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the first born among many brethren so for whom he foreknew and a foreknew can speak of prior knowledge obviously that's what the word would be defined foreknew prior knowledge but it doesn't speak simply of a prior knowledge because the word no can be used in in in reference to an intimacy adam knew his wife and she conceived so they're they're speaking of more than prior knowledge it can be used to also describe um an intimacy and so god has an intimate knowledge of us it would speak of his his love that he has for us as his children that he's had from the beginning again the the word carries the sense of intimacy in amos chapter 3 verse 9 you only have a known of all the families of the earth the lord speaks and says to the nation of israel and second timothy 2 19 nevertheless the foundation of god stands sure having the seal the lord knows those who are his there's an intimacy he has a knowledge and so those whom he foreknew those who he has relationship with prior and loves deeply and then he speaks of those whom he has predestined the word predestined speaks of appointing determining beforehand it speaks of marking out and so the word predestined is looking to the end of his purpose and what is his purpose verse 29 to be conformed into the image of his son his plan for the believer is that we'll be like him that we will be like jesus he's to be the first born among many brethren verse 29 what is he doing he's creating a family a community he's bringing about a community of people who glorify him and titus 2 14 paul said who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifying to himself a peculiar a different a unique people who are zealous for good works first peter 2 verse 9 says you are a chosen people a royal priesthood holy nation god's special possession that you may declare the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light why were you saved to praise him who called you out of darkness out of spiritual darkness the life that we lived without him he saved us and and we are lights now in a very dark world and he created a new community that we might glorify him and this new community is being conformed into the image of christ you see ultimately we're going to have glorified bodies every day i look forward to that more and more glorified body i groan already but not in the biblical way i just groan but we're gonna have bodies that are suitable for heaven in Philippians 3 20 and 21 it says our citizenship is in heaven we eagerly await a savior from there the lord jesus christ who by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glories body you see while on earth our lives are being transformed in heaven we ultimately have that that glory on earth we'll see this in romans 12 paul said it like this in verse 2 he said be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove but is that good acceptable and perfect will of god and so on earth we're being transformed because no longer will we be conformed to this age we're being transformed by the renewing of our mind so here on earth that's taking place but in heaven that'll be completed so in the new community he's saying that jesus is the firstborn meaning when he says firstborn he is the one who is preeminent he is the firstborn so it's not speaking of the birth order it's speaking of the honor you see jesus is the unique son of god and has favored status in matthew 3 17 a voice from heaven said this is my son whom i love with him i am well pleased so there are those who will say well jesus is firstborn and speak of him as if he was a human being created uh and the first born in terms of uh um you know as a human being it's a cultic way to think because jesus christ is god and the flesh incarnated and so it speaks of his his preeminence is what it's referring to it's not speaking of the fact that he is a first but it's speaking in terms of his honor and glory that he has as the firstborn in clausians 1 it says it a little more clearly in verses 15 through 20 he is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him he is before all things and in him all things hold together he is the head of the body of the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross so he is the firstborn and so he is the preeminent one we're only adopted children into the family of god so our purpose is to worship him now in verse 30 continues and he says more over whom he predestined these he also called whom he called these he also justified whom he justified these he also glorified and so he's speaking concerning those who have been called and all predestined those who are called and so those of us who have been called it speaks of how we received christ through hearing the word of the gospel so he called us through the proclamation of the gospel again that's one of the reasons guys remember this always that it's very important for us as believers to center our attention on the proclamation of god's word i don't know how us to say that any more plain than that i think that today what we have is a lot of distractions even in the church that people people can go to church services for the wrong reasons i'll say this very quickly if i can um when i first got saved i didn't go to church for entertainment i didn't go to church services bible studies to to do anything other than to learn about jesus christ that's i figured if i'm going to live for christ i need to know what his word says that made sense to me see so we had an amazing thing going in in this when i was saved obviously a movie was it was made about that and greg was sharing those things greg lory you know about this revolution but it was true i what was what we what our lives were built on was not entertainment our lives were built on jesus christ and we went to church as young i was 20 years old went to church services not because they had great bands and they did and not because they had a great speakers lani frisbee and chuck smith they were very very amazing communicators and and and all of that but that's not why i went i went because i wanted to know god i want now how am i going to know god if i don't hear the bible how am i how am i going to know him and i'm telling you and and i say this with with sorrow and i guess i can say it with some authority and experience i've been around for a while now i can say this um there are quite a number of places that may be filled with people but they're not filled with the things of the lord they're they're there for the the exciting um music and maybe the exciting speech and all that happens all over you see it on tv all the time and what has happened is bible studies have been turned into entertainment and churches are entertainment centers and and that doesn't build you up because you can get just so hyped you know and so excited then you climb in your car and you drive home and you go back to regular life and it's you haven't been helped but when you know that all things work together for the good of those who love god when you know that and you go home and you enter back into a situation that is difficult you can have hope because you know god's in control that comes not through a pep talk and that comes not through exciting worship i thank god for for great exhortation and and spiritual worship of course of course but that's not what my life was built on and so for the time i was 22 where i'm at right now it's been built on the solid rock of the word of god which is giving me the ability to go through the times that sometimes are rough and sometimes it's like you're you're trying to walk on water but the wind is blowing and the waves are are crashing and i don't know what i'm and then you say no all things are working together god is going to do something marvelous through this just be still know that he's god don't try and save yourself out of this let him do the work he wants and you'll see god will move and so he's calling us he calls us by the word and then he justifies us that word justify he declares us to be not guilty we're not guilty he is already he's taken it upon himself our sin has been paid for he's declared that we've been justified we've already seen that in chapter five he had said in verse one having been justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ he goes on in verse 30 whom he justified he also glorified i want you to notice that that the what he's he's using past tense glorified as a past tense thing he's saying it's it's this way in god's sight this is already done he looks at it as something already done i was standing in line years ago and there were two kids in front of me were marie and i were going to a movie and and these kids were having an argument i just happened to be standing there they were like 10 or 11 years old and they were just arguing about a sports event that had taken place and one was saying this particular team's going to win and the other one was saying no this team's going to win and they were arguing i mean they were very serious and it's kind of fun to watch a kid argue like that and and so as i was watching them arguing i already knew the score of the game so i turned to one of the kids and i whispered to him and i said bet on the rams they want it was something already done and in and our lives are like a dream that's already been had the events have already taken place in the mind of god he's justified you he's already this is so heavy i can't explain it i don't even grab how deeply deep this is he sees us already this is so hopeful as glorified the work in his sight you love god you're called according to his purpose he's glorified it is an event in his mind that is complete so don't live as if you've got it's already in his sight done just live in that way give yourself a little bit of grace i guess god is at work so he goes on and he says what then verse 31 what then shall we say to these things if god is for us who can be against us if god is for us who can be so goliath and david nine foot nine versus five foot five maybe little david at that time was the average height of the average jewish man of his day thousand years before christ five five they say maybe five six nine foot nine and he comes upon this giant who's challenging the armies of israel who is this uncircumcised pagan what an attitude he's nothing you know just allow me to take care of him because when he approaches david and the scriptures interest to him it says and david ran to him david was anxious and he ran to him and i'm paraphrasing obviously but he said he says there you are with your with your weapons of war you know your sword and javelin your spear you've got all those things yeah but i come to you in the name of god and you have defied him and i'm gonna cut your head off now that's david so what he saw was not the giant he said i come to you in the name of the lord what he saw was the one who gives him victory see so keep that in mind because when you face your giant obstacles you're not coming against him in your own strength because i promise you you'll lose you're coming in the strength of the lord and if you understand that victory is assured if god is for us who can be against us what more can be said we're conformed we're being conformed into his image we're called justified we're glorified if god is for us well what's going to frustrate his plan you see god is the omnipotent king of the universe and this this king is on our side it's like what it says in psalm 18 verse 6 the lord is on my side i will not be afraid what could man do to me the lord is on my side i will not be afraid i say a 41 10 do not fear i am with you do not be afraid i am your god i will strengthen you i will surely help you i will uphold you with my right hand of righteousness just hang on god is for us he's saying no one can stand in his way he says in verse 32 he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things god did not withhold his son from the anguish and the humiliation and the death instead god yielded him he did not hold back according to verse 32 he delivered him up he surrendered that word delivered means to surrender or yield he he delivered him up to custody so that he'd be judged condemned punished scourge tormented and finally put to death he delivered him up so how shall he not with him also free freely give us all things you see with him we receive all things that he freely and graciously gives in Ephesians 1 3 paul says blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in christ peter said in second peter 1 verse 3 according as his as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue what am i lack what am i lacking am i lacking anything the bible says no you have all things god is giving you all that is necessary and again sometimes we say if we only had a little more a little more what a little more what no he's already given us all things in christ what we need to do is we need to learn how to just exercise those things that he's given to us it's like that lady who had her son had been in the military for many years and he finally got out he hadn't been home he got out and he went to his mom's house and as he went to the house he he goes to the picket fence there then the and the the door was off the the the the gate was off its hinge and and he walks in and he sees the grasses died and weeds and plants and the screen door is is the screen is rusted and peeling out he enters into the house and it's dingy and and mama what do you mean what happened i don't have any money this is what happens when you have no money so what are you talking about i said mama i i've been sending you money orders for the last several years to support you she's money orders what's that money orders you don't know what a money mama no what is that he said i've been oh you mean those pieces of paper he goes what are you talking about she says coming she walks into one of the rooms and she had wallpapered the room with money orders she wallpapered the room with the money orders with his the money that he had sent her god has given to us access to his blessings and we put them on the wall we kind of look at them every once in a while paul is saying that isn't what it's for god has given you these blessings and you come behind in no gift exercise those things understand those things you've been justified he sees you as glorified if he's for you who can be against you so live as the one who is victorious not the one who is wondering how this is going to end and so who can condemn the one that god has declared to be not guilty and first john too paul said it like this uh rather john said it he said in verse one my little children these things i write into you that you sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous so he asks in verse 34 and i'll read to verse 39 in synopsis that who is he who condemns it is christ who died furthermore is also risen who is even at the right hand of god who also makes intercession for us who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribulation or distress persecution or famine nakedness peril sword as it is written for your sake we are killed all day long we are counted as sheep for the slaughter yet in all these things we're more than conquerors through him who loved us i'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angel nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created things shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord and so who can verse 33 i jumped over that but who can bring a charge against god's elect we know that satan accuses us we know our heart can accuse us but god has already forgiven us who is the one who can condemn the one that god has declared to be not guilty no one and so jesus is the one verse 34 who makes intercession for us and then the question is asked who shall separate us from the love of christ who and what can separate us from the love that christ has for us who can do that who can come between christ and his bride who can take the love of christ the love he has for me who can take that away from me who's able to do that who can separate me and my my master who can separate us from the love that christ jesus has for us and and now he begins to speak about the things that that people would say well i used to love jesus but this happened so he he speaks about tribulation can tribulation tribulation speaks of intense pressure can distress the word distress speaks of somebody who is hemmed in and helpless can persecution and when people revolve you to your face or physically attack you or speak evil of you can that separate you from christ's love for you no can can famine famine results very often from persecution can famine separate me from the love of christ no can nakedness destitution or poverty no can peril danger in general no can the sword can can someone attempt to take my life and thus make jesus no longer love me and he's saying no in verse 36 he says it like this and he's actually quoting a psalm psalm 44 verse 22 he says for your sake we're killed all day long we're accounted as sheep for the slaughter as believers we're exposed to danger and we're exposed to to to the potential for death constantly yet verse 37 and all of these things were more than conquerors in and through all of these things we remain overwhelmingly victorious so instead of losing hope we can come out of trouble stronger than ever before because he said i'm persuaded that nothing can separate me nothing in existence can separate me and of this he's saying i'm persuaded he's saying i am thoroughly convinced death is nothing i fear because it's been defeated by jesus life with all its tribulation and trials cannot separate me angels whether good or fallen cannot principalities it speaks of the government of angels including the fallen angels things present things to come everything we ever experience including all disasters powers which speak of governmental authority but also demonic the height or the depth the fact is and this will close with this thought the love of christ covers everything from the beginning to the end of our relationship with him nothing can separate you from the love of jesus christ when you leave tonight please if anything sticks with you may that stick with you nothing can separate you from his love his love is everlasting everlasting and you can feel bad yes and you can feel so many different things if your heart condemns you and it can god is greater than your heart he knows all things the enemy would like to whisper in your your ear and i know some of you know what i'm saying when i say this he would like to whisper in your ear and he does it in a variety of ways you're gone too far he can't possibly love you look at you look at you you've gone too far i was in insinada 1973 sinko de mayo weekend i was drunk for two days two friends and i had polished off two cases of beer between newport beach and the border tijuana and then for two days i backslid and drank myself into oblivion for two days i was an alcoholic before i got saved alcohol was a very tempting thing for me and so we went crazy for two days and yet i was there on the street and somebody handed me a track actually i found it on the ground it was in spanish but i knew it was a bible track and i handed it to somebody for them to read and the guy said something very vulgar to me as i handed it to him but it was that reaction that made me think what am i doing i'm not you know pigs will go back to the to the mud that they've been washed from dogs do return to their vomit but a son of god or daughter of god doesn't you may you may be tempted to and maybe even start splashing around a little bit but that isn't you don't go back why because because a pig is a pig and a dog is a dog and you're neither a pig nor a dog you're a child of the king and the lord has a way of reminding you and it was through his mercy and his compassion and i came home and my my sister madeline said well you were gone for three days did you have a good time and that i said yeah i had a blast we did this we did that and i started crying i said remember i was there at the kitchen table with my sister madeline and i wept and i said i've walked away from jesus and i got to come home i can't do this i went to church that night and the the evangelist that was at the church gave an invitation if you backslidden he said standing get right with god and i stood there with all these other people i still remember it i stood up and i said i'm not going back i'm going to follow jesus that was may and a couple months later i i enrolled at biola university it was called biola college at that time became a bible major and a history major and then a psychology major but and i i didn't turn back because if god is for you who can be against you because what shall separate you from the love of christ tell your sin no he loves you and he gives you hope and he forgives you and all you need to do is say god be merciful to me i am so sorry i haven't been what i should be the enemy says he doesn't love you but paul says oh yes he does with a never-lasting love he laid his life down for us god didn't spare his own son how shall he not with him give us all things that pertain to life keep that in mind because your god loves you and some of you think he doesn't well let me remind you today he does