God is For Us!

Good News! For all those who are “for Jesus” as their Lord and Savior, God is working for them and fighting for them with all of His heart and with that He is, every moment, all of the time, because of their union with His beloved Son.

One person with God is a majority -quoted by R. C. Sproul

Faith embraces all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. – John Piper

Yet those that be against us so far are they from thwarting us at all, that even without their will they become to us the causes of crowns and procurers of countless blessings in that God’s wisdom turns their plots unto our salvation and glory. See how really no one is against us! – Chrysostom

They that seem to devise mischief are no less of service to him than benefactors. - Chrysostom

What then shall we say to these things? (Romans 8:31) The only conclusion we can come to is that ‘God is for us’ because of Jesus. Another way to translate this part of verse 31 would be to say, “What is the necessary conclusion we must come to in light of all that I have said up to this point?” What is the conclusion he draws? That God is for us. What are the “things” that he has said that he is “adding up” in order to come to this necessary inference? Romans 5:1-5 appears to be what Paul has been expounding for the last 4 chapters and what he is summing up again so let’s go there again. Paul lays it out and adds it up something like this in light of the whole book of Romans:

— Sin is the Issue (between us and God)

— All-Sufficient Savior from sin (Jesus)

— Faith alone (all we need to benefit from the cross)

— Grace alone (all that comes our way as believers)

— No condemnation ever (nothing can change this)

— Suffering gives birth to good (pregnancy of joy) +

— God is For Us!

We need to “argue” our way to peace. In what sense are we ‘to say something’ in response to these things? Do you add up the truth in your own mind? (thinking) Do you pray over the truth you read and hear? (prayer) Do you talk about the truth with others? (fellowship) Do you fight with the truth in times of temptation and trial? (warfare) Do you bring up the truth in conversation with others? (witness) There needs to be a cooperation between our hearts and our mouths in our Christian lives. (Romans 10:9-10)

If God is for us (Romans 8:31) The “God” who is for us is more than sufficient to overcome those who aren’t and whatever isn’t. (Psalm 19:1-3) The book of Isaiah has been called the “gospel of the OT” and gives us a great description of who the God is who saves. Let’s just look at one passage in this book (Isaiah 40:9-10, 12-18, 21-26, 28-31). In Isaiah, God reveals that He is:

• Our Sovereign (controlling all things for our good and His glory)
• Our Savior (rescuing us from all ultimate danger)
• Our Sufficiency (providing for all our real needs)
• Our Satisfaction (giving us full and lasting happiness)

If God is who He says He is, then: There is no one greater than God who can take away our no condemnation status (MacArthur). God is for us in that He has committed all that He is to do us good. (Jeremiah 32:38-41) If God is for us, then we are truly in a happy state! We need to “write on our hands and forehead and doorposts” all that God has promised to be for us, all the time. Do you often think about all that God has promised to be for you in Jesus? Can there be anything more important than meditating on all that God has promised to be for us? (2 Peter 1:2-4) We need to trust that God is “at work” for us and “on our side” all the time, no matter what. The word “for” means “for, in behalf of, for the sake of, concerning, in reference to; for someone, be on someone’s side.” (1) God is “working for us”! (Psalm 92:4; Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28; Philippians 2:12-13) The washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus profoundly illustrates this with an ultimate reference to the cross. (2) God is “on our side”! (Psalm 124:1-6; see also 118:1-29; also Psalm 27, 46, 56; Isaiah 64:1-4) In the OT, we see God fighting for His people at the Red Sea against the Egyptians. (Exodus 14:13-14) We need to be thankful for His service to us, moment by moment, day by day. Are you able to thank God for everything and in everything? Why not? (Luke 22:27)

Who is against us? (Romans 8:31) We don’t have any real enemies any more. Paul seems to be saying that the believer has no more enemies – no one who is still ‘against’ us. The word for “against” means “against in the hostile sense; down upon, toward, against someone or something.” And yet, in a few verses, Paul will talk about very real and very hostile enemies. (Romans 8:35-36) Paul is obviously recognizing the reality of “enemies” (those who are ‘against’ us, even against us in very hostile ways) but indicating that those “enemies” have been transformed into “friends” because they will not prevail over us and they will actually serve our greater good! These enemies include the world, the devil and his demons, our own flesh (indwelling sin), temptations and trials, and even death itself. We can see this “no one will prevail against us with God on our side” attitude reflected in these verses as well: (Psalm 121:1-8; Isaiah 54:17) We can see that the Lord Jesus considered His enemy, Judas, a “friend” in some sense. (Matthew 26:49-50) Joseph also saw the evil of his brothers as overruled by the good God meant their evil “for.” (Isaiah 50:20) We need to fight the fear that gives our enemies more power than they have. What do you fear most? Why does it cause you to be afraid? (Luke 12:4-6; 21:16-18)

Who is God for? God is for the one who is for Him, who has turned to Him. (Leviticus 26:21-24) God is for those who are for Jesus. What does it mean to be ‘for’ Jesus? It means that we receive Him for who He is. (John 14:6) If I am “for Jesus” in the sense of having turned to Him for life and righteousness and obedience, then God is “for me” regardless of experiences in my life. Turn to God for life. Trust in Jesus for righteousness. Obey God’s Word for love. And the peace of God be with you.

(audio can be found at www.coastcommunitychurch.com)

Meal Plan for this Sunday at Coast

This Sunday is filled with "feasting" opportunities!

At the 10:30 AM Worship Service, we will continue "dining" in the book of Romans:

God is For Us! (Romans 8:31)

What does it mean to say that 'God is for us?'

At the end of the service, we will observe the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-34).

Then, after the service, we will enjoy a "love feast" (Coast style - a saintly potluck). See details below from an earlier email by Dan.

Hope to see you this Sunday!

Dear Coast Family,

This coming Sunday, August 28th, we will begin a monthly tradition. After the service we will have a "love feast" potluck lunch together. We will consider this to be a continuation of our fellowship around the Lord's Table and our celebrating the many benefits that come to us because of His broken body and shed blood. We hope that this time will become increasingly meaningful to us as we seek to recognize His presence among us and honor Him in our corporate fellowship around this meal.

We ask that each of you bring a main dish and a side dish (but not dessert) sufficient for you and your family.

The church will provide electrical hook-ups for your crockpots as well as utensils and beverages (water, ice tea and lemonade).

We will pray and begin eating at 12:30.

Additionally, Jim Sanders is organizing homemade ice cream. If you were asked by Jim to bring your ice cream maker, please direct your questions to him.

Any other questions you can direct to me. :) 562-787-8032

Blessings,

Dan

Meal Plan for this Sunday at Coast

This Sunday we will again meet only for worship.

10:30 AM The Eternal Optimist - Part 7 (Romans 8:26-30)

How does the truth of predestination encourage me to expect the best out of all my circumstances?

Bon appetit!

Coast Men's Retreat 2011

The Joy of Fishing (September 16-18, 2011)

This is another reminder to prayerfully consider joining us for our men's retreat this year and to sign up this week, if possible. You can sign up on Sundays, by email, by phone or by commenting on this blog post.

After this weekend, the retreat will be open to other men outside of Coast (so feel free to invite others). So far, we have about 20 signed up to go. We have room for 43 (3 more than originally thought).

We also wanted to let you know what the format for the retreat is this year. It is different from recent retreats. We have added two sessions (6 instead of 4 sessions). The sessions will be shorter than some in the past as a result. We have also added a voluntary curfew for bedtime and lights out each night. And we have added a voluntary group "quiet time" each morning that will precede the voluntary group prayer time led by Mike Hodson.

The additional sessions are needed because of the Matthias Media DVD training series we are using. The purpose of the large group "quiet time" or "time alone with the Lord" or "Bible meditation and prayer time" is to encourage you and challenge you to do this daily and to give you a vision for what to do if you aren't sure. These changes and the desire to emphasize the purpose of a retreat - to seek the Lord personally and corporately - form the basis for implementing a curfew. It is difficult to pay attention during the sessions and to make the most of our time seeking the Lord together if we are half asleep. So the motivation for the curfew is not to restrict your fun but to encourage a focus on why we are "retreating."

All this being said, we do not plan to "enforce" your compliance with the curfew or your participation in the large group quiet times. Fathers can give vision for their sons as they see fit. Men, you can decide whether these things fit in with your vision for the weekend or not.

So this is what it will look like (aside from any changes that might be made before the retreat):

Schedule:

Friday

3:00 PM .............. Blackbear Lodge open for worship team setup
5:00 ..................... Registration Begins (cabins open for all)
7:00 ................ Dinner
8:00 ................ Session 1: Love
9:30 ..................... Break
12:00 Midnight .. Curfew (voluntary but encouraged)

Saturday

6:15 AM ............. Quiet time (optional)
7:00 ..................... Prayer time (optional)
8:00 ................ Breakfast
9:00 ................ Session 2: Understand
10:30 .................. Break
11:00 .............. Session 3: Pray
12:15 PM ............ Break
12:30 .............. Lunch
1:30 ..................... Free Time
4:00 ..................... Group Activity (possibly)
5:30 ................ Dinner
6:30 ................ Session 4: Connect
7:45 ..................... Break
8:00 ................ Session 5: Invite
9:15 ..................... Break
12:00 Midnight.. Curfew (voluntary but encouraged)

Sunday

6:15 AM ............. Quiet time (optional)
7:00 ..................... Prayer time (optional)
8:00 ................ Breakfast/Clean out cabins
9 AM ............... Session 6: Talk
10:30 .................. Load Up
11 AM ................. Head Out

If you have any questions about the retreat, please let us know. And if you need help financially, please let us know as well. We hope you all can come. Please pray for God to meet us there.

New Couples' Small Group

Here's just a reminder for those who might need it:

Are you happy in your marriage but longing for it to be all that it can be?
Do you want to grow in your marriage but don't know where to start?
Do you find it difficult to make time for just the two of you?
Do you find yourself disappointed in yourself as a wife or husband?
Do you find that you are more often on different pages than before?
Do you find yourself longing for how things used to be in your marriage?
Do you wonder what God thinks of your marriage?
Do you just want to continue to invest in your marriage and keep your focus where it should be?
Do you want to be challenged to apply the gospel to your marriage on a daily basis?

For a while now we have been considering putting together a small group meeting for couples in our body. Not long ago I tried to get some idea of what interest there might be. I've had some interest expressed so we are going to try to put something together for this fall. It will be a group for any couple regardless of the strengths or weaknesses of the marriage (so it will be for good marriages to continue to grow as well as for those struggling relationships that need encouragement).

Jan and I are not the "marriage experts" but rather we look forward to growing with you in this venture as we go through helpful material prepared by others. If you answered "yes" to any of those questions above, then we invite you to come and be a part of this mid-week small group meeting. The plan is for couples to meet together at our home twice a month. This meeting would usually be the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month unless there was a conflict in the schedule (if so, then we would adjust our meeting time as needed).

As couples we will fashion a visual representation of the "Seven Building Blocks of Marriage" (arts and crafts will be included!) that will help us as we apply them to daily circumstances and opportunities to grow more in oneness.

We will use the same resources that Jan and I are presently using in our premarital counseling. These resources, though, are appropriate for any married couple. These resources include:


Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace book by Gary & Betsy Riccuci

Counseling Sheets (various) by the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship (IBCD)

Seven Gospel Building Blocks for Marriage by us :)

This coming Wednesday night (August 10) we will have an introductory meeting at our house at 7:15 PM for all those who are interested. At this meeting we will see what the interest is and talk about what we have in mind. If you have any interest at all, please join us for the meeting. If, for some reason, you can't make the meeting this Wednesday because of a prior commitment, but have an interest, please let us know.

So we invite any and all the couples in our body to join us for this focus on our marriages to the glory of God.

Coast Men's Retreat 2011

Our men's retreat will be here before you know it! (September 16-18) Please sign up this Sunday if you can or email Earl and let him know that you are planning to attend.

We are using an interactive DVD series by Matthias Media for our retreat this year called, Six Steps to Talking About Jesus. Matthias Media is a reformed evangelical publishing ministry in Australia. We found out about them at one of the Shepherds' Conferences held at Grace Community Church (John MacArthur). If you are unfamiliar with Matthias Media, you can watch the two videos below to find out more about them. The first video describes their publishing strategy and the second video is a taste of their evangelistic training videos (this one is not part of the series we are doing on the retreat).

Meal Plan for this Sunday at Coast

One entree this week ...

9:00 AM No Sunday School until November

10:30 AM The Eternal Optimist - Part 6 (Romans 8:26-30)

What does it mean to "love God"? How is loving God and righteousness by faith alone connected?

New Weekly Schedule for August, September and October:

9:30 - 10:25 AM Setup/worship team preparation; Prayer group
10:30 - 12:00 Noon Worship Service; Nursery/2&3s
12:00 - 12:30 PM Break Down and exit main building
12:00 - 4:00 PM Fellowship time on the school grounds

Beginning in November, we will not have Sunday School on the 4th Sunday of each month. But we are looking at having a potluck lunch together once a month on the 4th Sunday in conjunction with our observance of the Lord's Supper (a sort of 'Love Feast' Coast style). This may begin in August, Lord willing.

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!