Romans 8:28 “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Commentary from the sermon “Be Like Christ” by Alistair Begg:
“We must always bring what we know to bear upon how we feel, because how we feel when difficulties come is inevitably overwhelmed, buffeted, fearful, perhaps desiring to run away; so therefore, the only way that we’re going to get any kind of equilibrium is to bring what we know to be true to bear upon what is happening to us. …
“I think many of us would testify to the fact that more spiritual progress has been made in our lives by way of disappointment and failure and tears than has actually been made in the realm of success and laughter. Not that we would go and seek these things out, but that we would recognize that Father knows best, that nothing takes Him by surprise, and that from all of eternity, in the ebb and flow of life, in that which we regard as good and bad and sometimes horrible and impossible to deal with, in the challenges that we face that sometimes appear to never go away, in the experiences of unanswered prayer—or at least the answer comes back in a prolonged wait or in an apparent “No”—that still in the midst of all of that, God’s eternal purpose is at work in the lives of His children.”
Isaiah 45:6–7 I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Commentary from the sermon “‘Behold Your God!’ — Part Two” by Alistair Begg:
“The will and purpose of God from all eternity stands behind everything. Everything—light and darkness, pain and pleasure, peace and calamity. But here’s the point: nothing—nothing—can spring into action without God’s say-so, and nothing can run beyond the boundaries of His purposes. It is impossible, because He is God. …
“Unless we get ahold of this, then we will inevitably fall into the great pit which suggests that somehow or another, God is only sovereign in our lives when everything is pleasant. I get this all the time from people who say, ‘Well, the devil must have done this one, because I know God is only on the side of pleasure. He has got nothing to do with pain. He’s got nothing to do with calamity.’ My loved ones, He’s got everything to do with calamity! …
“God knows what He’s doing. He knows what He’s doing on the macro level, and He knows what He’s doing on the little level. Oh! We shouldn’t be discouraged, then, if things appear to us to be out of control. They’re not out of control! From our perspective, maybe. But not from the one who sits outside the circle of the universe, not the one who has called the galaxies into space. No! They can’t be.”
Philippians 1:27–29 “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.”
Commentary from the sermon “Take a Stand” by Alistair Begg:
“It is only when the people of God will bow before a sovereign God that we will begin to understand that we are not intimidated by the godless. Oh, we may be for a moment or two. Our feet may almost slip. We may say, ‘Well, they’re the attractive people. They’re the beautiful people. They’re the powerful people.’ But once we go into the temple of God and we put it underneath His all-arching wisdom, we say, ‘There is no reason here for panic. There is no reason here for confusion. God’s in charge!’”
Genesis 45:5 “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
Commentary from the sermon “Some Thoughts on Providence” by Alistair Begg:
“The events of the world seem haphazard, in many ways uncontrollable, for many people frightening, and almost inevitably uncertain. And so the question that falls to the Christian believer is, do we then have anything that is valid to say, any response to make, when what is not an uncommon perception is offered to us in the course of everyday life? …
“When Jesus speaks of these things to His disciples, who were often overwhelmed by the complexities of life as it was unfolding for them, He speaks in the most tender terms. … He makes it so amazingly clear that the vastness of God’s interest in the universe extends to the tiniest of concerns. And that’s how He argues from the clothing of the grass of the field to the caring of the fall of a sparrow. He’s actually making the claim, as Creator, that God Himself, who made this world, sustains it and is interested and engaged in it to the very fall of a sparrow.”
Ruth 4:16–17 “Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
Commentary from the sermon “The Mystery of History” by Alistair Begg:
“This story … is a story of ordinary people going through their ordinary days. And the reminder that is at the very core of the story is this: that although God oversees all the affairs of the nations, still He is interested in … a Bethlehem farmer and a foreign girl from Moab. … And the writer is telling us this: God’s gracious care extends to two defenseless widows, and beyond these two defenseless widows, ultimately to the benefit of all Israel. That David’s life—King David, that is—the great king of Israel, in terms of physical descent was linked to the story of a Moabite girl who was gleaning in a barley field many miles from her home. …
“The book of Ruth says this to you: God cares, God rules, God provides. … It is in the ordinariness of the events of life, and it is in the ordinariness of people, that God unfolds His plan for you and me.”
