The Great Reconciliation of Mankind

We've, many of us, have been in the Church for many years. And sometimes, I know myself included, we can take the knowledge that God has revealed to us for granted. You know, to know that every holy day builds upon one another, starting with Passover and culminating with the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. It lays out this purpose as to why we were created. Not only us, but all of mankind. And we are just so grateful that He's revealed that to us. And it's incredible that God would create mankind for the intent to expand His family. Billions of children. Billions of children with that purpose of joining God the Father in Jesus Christ in eternity forever. And we open up the Bible, and we begin to read of that purpose that God has revealed to us. And it's absolutely beautiful. David speaks in Psalm 8, where he says, we know that Scripture. What is man? That you're mindful of Him. That you would even begin this process of having Him, mankind, grow and to be a part of your family, your very own family. And you have put everything under His feet. And then God's amazing proclamation given through Moses. I love this. It's Deuteronomy 4, verse 19, where he told Moses, The sun, the moon, the stars, and all the hosts of heaven, the Lord your God has given to all peoples as a heritage. Beautiful words. And it's astounding to contemplate that God is working through us to share His dominion with the entire created universe. Let us make man an our image according to our own likeness. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has in store for those who love Him. And yet, as we continue to read in the very book that all those words speak about, we also begin to read about a reconciliation that's needed. A reconciliation of those same future children back to the Father, bringing back to God the Father. So what happened? Well, mankind would, at some point, we know, veer off course. At the very beginning, after the first two chapters of Genesis, from there, we see that things quickly change as we are introduced to a serpent. A serpent who is later identified in Revelation as being a fallen angel. And this fallen angel then convinced several of his fellow angels to turn from God and also to turn against that expansion plan that God put in place. And that's why when we read in those beginning scriptures about the earth, we see a description that is not like anything in the world that we see today. The world as we know it is not the world that God created or ultimately intends it to be. But the world that we know it is as a result of implications of mankind rejecting the very purpose as to why they were created. The world that we know it is a result of mankind being influenced by that fallen angel to reject the family relationship and to reject that expansion into his family. And so reconciliation then is needed. And we're going to speak about that reconciliation today. And we're going to see that it should have a dramatic effect, an absolute dramatic effect in how we live our lives each and every day. So the title of today's message is The Great Reconciliation of Mankind. That fallen angel would enter into the Garden of Eden and begin his plan to thwart God's plan. Let's turn over to Genesis 3 in verse 1. We will begin to pick up the story here. Genesis 3 in verse 1, where it says, it begins to speak about this serpent.

And another serpent said to the woman, So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate, and also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. Let's stop there. So this rejection and this rebellion then to the relationship guidelines that God had laid out was now broken. As Satan the devil was successful in influencing Adam and Eve here to break that relationship with him. And as a result, everything, absolutely everything, breaks down. Look at verse 17 here, standing in Genesis 3, verse 17 through 19.

So God says, because you ate from that tree, because you've broken our relationship in this way, well, here's how it will be. Cursed is the ground. Incredible tool will now come. Thorns, thistles, a broken relationship between man and woman, and a marred relationship now between God and mankind, and death is now upon you. Dust, you shall return. So God's creation and bringing Adam and Eve into this relationship with him is now broken, and it's marred. And as a result, mankind would experience now incredible suffering due to that decision.

God had walked with them, talked with them, given them everything they needed to be successful in this relationship with him, in which would lead to joining his family. God gave them the loving instructions that would create this beautiful relationship, but now that was broken. The serpent, more cunning than any other beast in the field, was able to have his influence in his way accepted by Eve and by Adam.

This was the first example of the incredible skill that this deceiver has, where he said, Did God really say you must not eat of any tree in the garden? What venom! Those words hold. And you see the distortion here. And she says, No, God didn't say that you must not eat of any tree in the garden. He actually said, of every tree in the garden, you can freely eat.

But one! So she actually corrects him on that matter, but he's not deterred, he's patient, he continues, and his deception is then successful. And the breaking of that relationship between God and mankind would occur. And make no doubt what occurred here. The breaking of this relationship was a blatant act of disobedience to the relationship rules, to the commandment that God had taught them that would have led to them joining his family. And the knowledge of good and evil is a reference not just to knowledge, it's really a reference to deciding good and evil, deciding what is right or wrong. Man wants to determine what this relationship with God looks like and how it should be.

And so they readily accepted the influence to make their own relationship rules and accepted Satan's idea of not having any part of God's commandments that he had laid out to be followed. But we can ask, you know, why was there a choice involved here? Why not just have any choice, or not have any choice, just the choice to follow God's way only available? And the answer is, we have to understand that there is a depth involved with the type of relationship that God wants to have with those who are going to be entering into his family. It was never God's intention. It was never Jesus Christ's intention to have some kind of one-way relationship. God and Jesus Christ wanted their future family members to choose from the depths of their heart to make a choice to be part of that family. And so choice was exactly what was made available to them. But only after great care and instruction did God open up this relationship with Adam and Eve, and then he gave them the choice, and he clearly instructed them to eat from the tree of life. And that symbolized this obedient relationship that would lead to eternal life. But the very essence of choice means that there was another option, and that other option has led to the disaster that mankind finds himself in today. Instead of choosing life and obeying him and adhering to these rules, the relationship rules, they would instead choose to decide for themselves what was in or out, what was right or wrong. They chose from the other tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and God explicitly commanded them not to eat from that tree. But he didn't prevent them from doing so. He allowed choice. And thus the great fall of mankind would occur, separation would happen, and so the desperate need for reconciliation of all mankind would come about.

But we want to make one thing clear, is that God was not taken off guard by the fall of mankind. When the separation of man from God occurred as a consequence of this decision by Adam and Eve, God was not unprepared for that. Let's turn over to Ephesians 1 and verse 3. This is very important to see here.

Ephesians 1 verse 3, Ephesians, we're going to see here, makes clear that even before Adam and Eve were created, before Adam and Eve were disobedient, God had already planned a rescue and a reconciliation here. Ephesians 1, we'll read verse 3 through 10. It's an incredible set of Scriptures here.

It says, Ephesians 1 verse 3, Ephesians 3 verse 7, See this reconciliation here? That he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him. So Ephesians 1 here, it gives us a glimpse of God's eternal plan. Here we see more, perhaps, than any other place in the Bible, God's eternal plan on display. Because just within these set of Scriptures here, it takes us even before creation, all the way to the point of the fulfillment of mankind's plan of salvation.

And we read this here to make one essential point. And that point is, God was prepared for the fall. He had a plan in place for the fall of mankind. From the very beginning, from the very beginning, God the Father's plan was for Jesus Christ to provide this reconciliation to all of mankind. Before the foundation of the world, it had already been determined for Jesus Christ to bring mankind back to God, what did it say? Through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of His grace.

So when we speak about this foundational reconciliation plan, through the spilling of Christ's blood, we ought not think that this was something planned for after it occurred, or something God didn't anticipate. But rather, as we see here, the reconciliation of man made available through Jesus Christ is grounded from the very beginning and the foundation of God's eternal plan for mankind.

And what Paul is saying here is that God determined from all eternity to call a people to Himself through Jesus Christ to restore everything unto Him. As verse 10 said, "...gether together in one all things in Christ, which are both in heaven and which are on earth, in Him." And so one day, all the consequences caused by Satan's influence, one day those consequences of that decision will be undone.

And on that day, then once again, God will be glorified, and God has decided to reconcile and rescue all of mankind in this way. Verse 5, again, verse 5, "...having predestined us to adoption as Son by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, and to the praise of the glory of His grace." And so the purpose of God in this reconciliation was according to His pleasure and His will, and He's revealed those to whom He's working with now.

But this plan includes all of mankind as part of this reconciliation. And it says to be the praise of His glorious grace. The reason God determined to execute this eternal reconciliation plan for mankind would be to His pleasure, His will, and the praise of His glorious grace. And at first look, it may seem like, oh, well, it seems like it's all about Him. And in a sense, it is. But, ah, where something incredible here is that God is wonderful in that everything that He has, He is sharing with mankind. Amazing. Let's turn over to John 17 and see this a little bit further. John 17 and verse 18. We're going to pick up in verse 18 here.

God is, we know, working with a few now in this reconciliation, but the time is coming in which the Father and the Creator will offer reconciliation to all of mankind. We just pictured that with the Feast of Tabernacles in the last great day. Read these words, and let's read it carefully here. John 17 and verse 18 through 23. As you sent me into the world, Christ is praying to His Father, I also have sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they may also be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent Me.

In the glory which you gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one.

I in them, you in Me, and they, the whole world, may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and I have loved them just as you have loved Me. Let's stop there. According to the good pleasure of His will, all of mankind will be brought back to the Father by the Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and He will share all of His glory with all of mankind. What grace He has shown to us! And we could say, praise be to this eternal plan of reconciliation. Praise be to the glory of His grace, which it says here. Man's breaking of this relationship with God is met with judgment, but in it, it contains this showing of great mercy, and this mercy of mankind to mankind is not just shown in the New Testament when Jesus Christ steps upon this earth, but God's grace is shown throughout the entire Bible, even from the beginning, from the very foundation. His glorious grace is shown to us, His mercy. He banished Adam and Eve from the garden, but He still loved them, and He looked for them, and He provided them clothing, and He makes a promise to them. Even though they broke this relationship with Him, He makes an incredible promise to them. Let's see this promise. Go back to Genesis 3 and verse 15. Genesis 3 and verse 15, this is a remarkable prophecy made to Adam and Eve and recorded for us a promise that that of mercy and that of grace that was to come. Genesis 3 and verse 15, this is just after the breaking of the relationship, and He says here to them, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. You are banished from the garden, you are recipients of death, you are barred from re-entry, but know that I will not forget you, and I will make a promise to you. I'll never forget this promise. And what does the promise say? It's sometime in the future a descendant would come, a human being, would come in the form of a human being, and will destroy the evil one, that same one that has led you away from me. Incredible. And so we have this incredible prophecy regarding the future work of the Savior, and He would be the great reconciler, Jesus Christ. In the prophetic future to come here, mentioned here, Jesus Christ will defeat Satan the devil, and one day He's coming back to make sure that His influence is put away with, that Satan is bound and removed for a thousand years. And in this prophecy, Satan is defeated, and that is absolutely Satan's eternal destiny. We can rest assured of that. His head is crushed. This deceiver, the one, the deceiver of the world, the author of sin, His destiny is to be crushed. And we are assured of that on the account of Christ's sacrifice. But it was and is not yet the time for that to occur, the banishment, the bringing back of all mankind to God the Father.

Satan was allowed to stay here on this earth for a period of time, as that other choice would be made available to all of mankind. And Satan's influence then would eventually cover the entire earth.

But despite mankind's continued rejection of God, we see God's grace on full display throughout the entire Bible. Murder, mayhem would spread, the killing of Abel by Cain. But we see in Genesis 4 that Cain was exiled out but not completely abandoned. The Lord marks Cain that if anyone killed Cain, that individual would suffer vengeance seven times over, we read.

Mercy and grace combined with judgment. But the story of Cain and Abel was just the beginning, we know, of the depths by which mankind would fall from God. And one of the greatest falls was shown in the days of Noah. Go forward here a few chapters to Genesis 6 and verse 5. Genesis 6 and verse 5. This shows the incredible fall of mankind in that day, in the days of Noah. Genesis 6 and verse 5. Then the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every intent of their thoughts of their heart was on evil continually.

And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. And so the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air. For I am sorry I have made him. Go down to verse 11.

The earth was also corrupt before God. The earth was filled with violence. And so God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted their ways on the earth. Stop there. Every intent of their thoughts of their heart was on evil continually. All flesh were corrupted in this way on the earth. And so isn't it remarkable then that we then read verse 8. Verse 8, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

God chose him and his family to be recipients of this mercy, of this grace. He provides for Noah by the means of a covenant, as we see in verse 17. He tells him he was going to establish a covenant through him for all of mankind. Verse 17, And behold, I myself am bringing flood waters on the earth to destroy from under heaven all flesh, which is the breath of life. Everything that is on earth shall die.

But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall go into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, your sons' wives, with you. What grace is shown here by God the Father? God reaches out to Noah, offers this relationship. God saw his creation down here on earth, and everything was horrific and evil that was unimaginable. But not unimaginable, is it, for our time of day now.

We see this type of evil that was on full display back in Noah's day. We see it today. And God is grieved. He's grieved today. He was grieved then. Grieved that the whole creation was worthy of his divine condemnation and judgment, all of it without exception, the whole human race. Desperately wicked, outwardly, inwardly, every thought of their heart. It was clear. All had sinned. All must die. But Noah, Noah found grace.

And again, many of those who call themselves Christian believe that you have to wait until after the time that Jesus Christ stepped onto the earth, and we have those recordings before grace and mercy comes into the picture, but not so. Grace was since the very beginning, and that incredible mercy that he showed to us. And so grace unfolds to all of mankind in the midst of judgment.

Grace, this outreaching of free and unmerited favor from God. All have sinned. All are under judgment. All deserve death. But God is committed to his expansion plan. Absolutely committed. And so Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Even Noah was a sinner, and because of that, grieved God. Noah was deserving of his divine judgment, that of death. But Noah was distinguished from the rest of humanity, because grace was shown to him. And that's what distinguishes you. It's the same thing that distinguishes you and I. Verse 9 says Noah was a just man, perfect, and walked with God. But he wasn't sinless. There was only one who was sinless, we know, and that was Jesus Christ. Everyone else is deserving of this judgment of death.

But I have no doubt that Noah understood the grace which was being shown to him and his family. And therefore, that undeserved love, it affected him. And it affected how he lived his life. And it must affect us. It must have an effect on us. Love has been shown to us first before we even ever existed.

So how are we responding to that love? This is the question. This is our life. And since that great calling, since God opened up a relationship that we can have with him, we now live this life of responding to this incredible love that he has shown us.

And so every thought, every action, every prayer, everything about us is to exude the depth of our understanding of the love that he has extended to us. Turn over to Titus 3.

That's the very end of the Bible.

Titus chapter 3 and verse 1 through 7. We're going to see here how this grace distinguishes us and how this grace should have an effect on us moving toward this relationship and this obedience to the relationship guidelines, the commandments.

The commandments are simply these relationship rules. Titus 3 and verse 1.

Paul is writing to young Titus here. He says, Titus chapter 3 verse 1.

Remind them to be subject to the rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing humility to all men. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy. We were hateful and hating toward one another. Verse 4.

When that appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us.

Through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that having been justified by His grace, we should then become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. What kindness He has shown to us! What love, our Savior! And it's not because of anything that we have done or earned. We all deserve death, but mercy has been shown to us in all of mankind. And that should affect us deeply, absolutely deeply. We are nothing without it. Imagine a world without this grace. Imagine a world without this mercy from God, where it wasn't extended to us.

We're nothing without it. But Jesus Christ did come, and He would bring all of mankind back to God through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. On the night before His death, He sat down and He said, This is my body which I give to you. I do so in remembrance of me. Remember these things which I've done for you. And He took that cup after supper, and He said, This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which I've shed for you. That foundational plan was occurring at that time. And after knowing all these things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled on the cross, He said, It is finished. And He bowed His head, and He gave up His Spirit. And this is actually Timothy. And so Timothy writing to Titus, he said, Remind them. Remind them what has been given to them. Remind them to obey. Remind them to be ready for every good work. Remind them. Don't speak evil of no one. Remind them to be peaceful, gentle. Remind them to show all humility to all men.

Remind them why they are living this way of life, according to those commandments that He laid out to that first man and that first woman. Remind them what's been given to them. An unmerited outreach, showing of love to them before they ever even were. Going back to Genesis. Turn with me back to Genesis 9 and verse 12 here.

Genesis 9 and verse 12. God gives a wonderful sign to Noah that marks this grace. It marks this relationship, this relationship covenant that He reached out with. I think this is beautiful. Genesis 9, and we'll pick it up in verse 12.

And God said to Noah, This is a sign of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations. And He says, I have set my rainbow in a cloud, and it shall be for you the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And it shall be when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud. And God says, Then I will remember my covenant which is between me and you, and every living creature in all flesh. The water shall never raise again and become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud. And I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on earth. And God said to Noah, This is the sign of my covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on earth. So God says, I think that's incredible. God says that He would look upon it and remember the covenant that He has made with us. He is determined to fulfill this reconciliation plan with all of mankind. And I will establish with you, He says, never again to send a flood to destroy. So although sin continues, God is committed to His creation. He's not finished. He will complete this eternal plan, a plan sent forth since the foundation of the world, and you are a part of it. Your eyes have been opened. You've been given access to this relationship. But even knowing that truth, the fact is we feel sometimes, if not often, weakened by the attacks of Satan the Devil on this world and the world that's developed around us. Even though we remind ourselves of this promise and this covenant, and we remind ourselves of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, it can feel so overcoming. Sometimes I can't even look at the news sometimes. We see the evil that was spoken about and described in the days of Noah, and it's upon us now. And even with knowing how it all ends, there is just a tremendous amount of despair and fearfulness. And many of us are going through suffering in all different kinds of ways. And we have these feelings, and we're experiencing this now because we are living with the same adversary that Adam and Eve faced. And he tasted their blood. He saw, and he deceived them, and he was successful. And he wants more. He absolutely wants more. And make no doubt, he knows who you are.

He knows to whom God has revealed and opened up a relationship with him. And it's his intent, just like with Adam and Eve, to break it, break that relationship that you have with God the Father.

And so we live with that understanding. And until God removes this original instigator, the original breaker of that relationship, we're in trouble, and mankind is in danger. Satan the devil was the murderer from the beginning. He's a murderer today. So how do we hold on? I want to finish today with a little hope. There is hope throughout all the despair. It seems like God always gives us the escape plan and the hope we need. He paints the picture, the realistic picture of where we're living today and the conditions we're living in.

But then he gives us the hope that we need to remain and keep pushing forward. So while God did allow Satan to remain here on earth, he gives us a promise, just like he did with Noah in that day. But this is a promise to all the generations that would come there. And with this promise that we're going to look at here, we will be able to see that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from this love and this grace that God has shown to us.

And it's a promise. This promise is found in Psalm 91. Let's turn there. Psalm 91, here in Psalm, it gives us this fundamental promise that will help us endure Satan the devil as he wields his influence on us. Psalm 91, we're also going to see here in this Psalm that there is a perspective, a real deep perspective here that will help us endure the dangerous circumstances we find ourselves in, making sure that that connection with God is never broken.

Psalm 91, and we'll read, starting in verse 1, it says, So what's the promise? If we dwell close in this relationship with God, if there is nothing more important to us, absolutely nothing more important to us, and absolutely trust that God will keep you safe in times of trouble. We recognize the imagery here, of course, of a shelter and a fortress, those being metaphors of safety, but we also see a shadow. And I like that imagery, and that offers us great protection as well. At that time, there was incredible heat, a hot climate, and the fact is, to get into a shadow sometimes, to get into shade, was a matter of life and death.

And so God is this shadow for us, a protector. And we have this image here of his wings covering us, and he will save us from the Fowler's snare. So we're being depicted as a bird here, as a baby bird. And it's mentioned here, the snare of the Fowler. When the Fowler goes after a baby bird, you know, he's very deceitful, and he's careful to cover and disguise his trap.

But the Lord is depicted here as the mother bird, and he will cover us with his wings, and under his wings, we will find this refuge. Incredible image here of God as the mother bird, whose wings cover us, protects us from environment and predators. He's tender, he's loving, he's protective. You can trust in him. It says, My God, it's your God, and he will take care of you in danger. Let's continue here with the promise. And the perspective deepens here in verse 5 through 13. It's interesting what we'll find here in verse 5 through 13.

It's a unique perspective that can help us endure in this time of trouble. It says in verse 5, The young lion and the serpent shall trample unto you, and you shall tread upon the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpent shall trample underfoot. Let's stop there. Again, this is a very interesting set of scriptures here with regards to how we look at our life here with the devil and the protection and what God's promise is to us.

Because we know that even with God's protection, there still is incredible suffering, isn't it, that we go through. And there still is a great adversary that we are living here down on earth with. Yet, if you read these verses in verses 5 through 13, it can seem as if nothing bad is going to happen to you. It says, like in verse 10, No evil will befall you. That's a very definitive statement, isn't it? There's violence and disease, but it might come near you, but it won't come to you.

It'll be all around you. And then verse 11 and 12, let's read that again. Verse 11, For he shall give charge, he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. So it sure looks like he's saying here that if you believe in God and you trust in Him, you won't even stub your foot. You won't even stub your toe, if you will. So this is really interesting.

And what is this saying, then? What is the fullness of what this is saying? Ironically, this is a portion of Scripture that Satan actually quotes when he is looking to tempt Jesus Christ in the wilderness. We won't turn there, but it's found in Luke 4, verse 9. Satan quotes here these verses in Psalm 91.

Let me read it to you. This is Luke 4, verse 9. The devil, he says, see, Satan the devil. Then he brought him up to Jerusalem, this is Luke 4, verse 9, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. He says, For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you to keep you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And Jesus answered him and said, It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. And so, Satan the devil quotes this Scripture. What Satan is trying to do here is he is trying to get Jesus Christ to not walk the path of suffering. He's saying here that there should be no suffering for those who are with and abide with God. So what he's trying to get Jesus Christ to do again is not walk the path that would lead to sacrifice. Satan is offering Jesus Christ there in Luke the kingdoms of the world, but in a different way.

Not a way of sacrifice and suffering. Essentially saying, Why obtain the kingdoms of the world that way? I can get you the kingdoms of the world without going through all of that. If you suffer, he says, God is not making good on his promise. And so if Satan uses this technique on Jesus Christ, you can bet that it's one of the most powerful ways that Satan will derail us.

And we see the deception in this today. The deception that a follower of Jesus Christ should not experience any suffering. If God is good, why would he allow Satan to remain here on earth and be this instigator of all suffering? Well, there is an understanding here, and there's a key to this understanding. And it's found in Romans 8, verse 28. Keep your finger in Psalms. We'll come right back to it.

But Romans 8, verse 28, I can read it to you. It's a very familiar scripture here. Romans 8 and verse 28, we know the scripture where it says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

Let me read that again. Romans 8, verse 28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Now, it does not say all things are good. If we read it that way, we would be missing something. We cannot say in this world in which we're living that all things are good. We see incredible evil in this world, and we are touched by it. Incredible suffering. There's an enormous amount of things in this world that are completely evil, no doubt. There's a tremendous amount of these things in this world that God didn't put in this world. He didn't design it to be that way. What is it saying here? It does not say that, that all things are good. It says, all things work together, all things work together for good. What that means is, from the vantage point of eternity, we will see, we will see that all things work together for good. One day, we will see that God exercised his will in such a perfect way. And all the evil in the end, all of it, will lead to the greater glory of God and the greater glory and joy for us. And that will be the ultimate defeat on evil. When we look back, we will see that even allowing Satan to remain here on earth, all the evil deeds, all the evil intentions, actually only accomplished the reverse of what they intended. And that will be again the ultimate defeat of evil, because God will be left with a people who chose, despite unimaginable odds, they chose. They chose to be a part of his family. They chose to be a part of this expansion set since the foundation of the world. They chose to stand up to that evil influence, to make that choice that Adam and Eve chose, to make a different choice, to choose God's way. They chose. Those will be the people that are left standing. And those will be the people here in verse 5 through 13 of Psalms 91. Let's go back there, Psalm 91. And those people will look at these verses in verse 5 through 13, and they'll look at it as knowing it's being absolutely true. If you are under God's wing, nothing will harm you. Satan may ultimately kill your body. That may happen. But not one strand of your hair will be lost. As verse 11 says, he will keep you in all of your ways. You will be kept. The very essence of who you are, that is protected always. You will be qualified to enter into his family. That's what God wants. That's the people he wants.

So let's conclude here in Psalm 91, verses 14 through 16. This is the beautiful understanding solidified here in these final three verses. Psalm 91 verse 14, Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him. We set his love upon him, he will deliver us. I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. I will be with him in trouble. It doesn't say he will keep us from trouble, does it? But he will be with us in that trouble. We know the lengths by which he went to to be with us. He stepped upon this earth. He made himself a human being, vulnerable. He put himself down here with the devil, humbled himself, even allowed himself to be killed. The very Son of God allowed himself to be killed. He came in here and experienced the trouble that we face. So that helps us. That helps us get through and handle our own trouble. Knowing that the Lord is walking with me, and he actually and literally knows what I'm going through. Not only will he be with us, he is the great rescuer, the great reconciler. He saves us by his grace. He covers us with his wings. He protects us from the judgment. He spreads out his wings, and he says, I will take the judgment upon myself, and I'll protect you from it. Let the judgment fall upon me, my children, and I will bring you back to my Father. And so we look at him, and we see how patient he was under great suffering, incredible suffering. The Lord suffered all that I deserved, and if you, Lord, were patient under that suffering for me, I could be patient in my suffering for you. I know from your example, Lord, that you're trying to make me more like you. Thank you, we say. And so who will separate us from that grace and that love shown? Who will separate us? What will it be? That love shown to us since the foundation of the world. Will it be tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? Will it be Satan the devil? No. We will say, and we can say, nothing will separate me from that love, because I am with the one who has defeated the Great Separator. And in that love, I will never be separated. Well, what a day it'll be when that great reconciliation is fulfilled, when all mankind will experience that, we will see that temporary ruler of the world today put away. What a day it'll be when that angel comes from heaven, comes and takes a hold of that serpent, takes him to the bottomless pit with a chain in his hand, lays ahold of him, bounds him for a thousand years, casts him into the bottomless pit, shuts him up, puts a seal upon him, and he won't be able to deceive the nations for a thousand years.

What a day it will be! So let's pray and prepare for that day to come quickly.