Bible Text: Acts | Speaker: Blake Nichols | Series: Acts | An “All Things” Attitude
Acts 19:13-41, Romans 8:28-29
Romans 8:28-29 ESV: 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

God uses bad situations to bring forth something good as the Bible tells us in Romans 8:28.  In Acts 19:13-20, there is the story of those who tried to use the name of Jesus for selfish reasons and it ended badly for them.  The end result is given in verse 20:

The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

In this situation, we see that something that starts badly ended up in bringing glory and honor to God.

In verses 23-24 we are told about a great disturbance against the Way that ended in a riot.  The merchants were upset because they thought they would lose gain if people accepted the Way and rejected the goddess Artemis.  A riot took place but the city clerk reasoned with the people to take legal means in the situation and dismissed the assembly.  Nothing is said about an outcome that glorified God but we still know God is good even when don’t see it.

The question for us when bad things happen is “How can this thing be used for good? How can we apply an “all things work together for good” attitude in life?

We should have an intentional faith, a faith in God no matter the circumstances. Romans 8:28 states “and we know” (not think or feel).  We know the character of God; He is good and He is love.  We also know about His precious promises to those of us who love Him.
We must include everything. Everything means all things.
We must keep our eyes on God. Pastor Blake gave an example of how as a boy, he watched his mother make a chocolate cake.   She mixed all the ingredients together to prepare it and allowed him to lick the bowl.  Later he came back and thought he would take a spoonful of the cocoa…and you can imagine the result.  Likewise, God can work circumstances together to make something good…that may not seem to be at first.
We need to understand what good is. In our world, good means comfortable but God’s good is to grow us into the likeness of Christ.  Sometimes it may feel like sandpaper or maybe a chisel or even dynamite to accomplish the purpose of Christlikeness that God has for His children.

God loves us!  How are we doing with loving God?