Sixth Sunday after Pentecost July 27, 2014 MURPHY S LAW VS. ROMANS 8:28 (ROMANS 8:28-34) 28 And we know that God works all things together for good, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Introduction: Have you heard of Murphy s Law? Here it is: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There are all sorts of variations of this law, as here: For students: If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you live. When you travel: When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time. When you are served a meal aboard an aircraft, the aircraft will encounter turbulence.
When you enter a contest: Anybody can win -- unless there happens to be a second entry. When you read the newspaper, looking for hope: It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be coming up it. When canoeing: No matter which direction you start it's always against the wind coming back. When you need a pat on the back: Those whose approval you seek the most give you the least. When you are desperate for relief: Inside every small problem is a large problem struggling to get out. When you are running behind: The only things that start on time are those that you're late for. When you want to get ahead: Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. When you want to communicate better with your spouse: A little ignorance can go a long way. When you need to deal with bureaucracy: For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. When you take a class in philosophy: Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
When you are repairing your car: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to go to the rest room. When you really try to have a more positive outlook: Smile, tomorrow will be worse. Negative expectations yield negative results. Positive expectations yield negative results. When you are ready for a challenge: Things get worse under pressure. When you go shopping: The longer you wait in line, the greater the likelihood that you are in the wrong line. If you change lines, the one you just left will start to move faster than the one you are now in. When you take pictures on vacation: The best shots are generally attempted through the lens cap. When you need advice on using your brand new computer: It works better if you plug it in. When you are not sure what to get for the grandkids for Christmas: An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. When you are planning to persevere and give it the old college try: If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you have tried. And last but not least Murphy was an optimist.
An Explanation of Romans 8:28 The first word in this verse is and, which looks back to 8:26-27: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He [God the Father] who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. In other words, the Holy Spirit is there for us, even during the darkest and most trying of times. In fact, God knows our situation infinitely better than we do He really understands what is going on in our lives. We know indicates that our confidence is not in ourselves but in the Almighty. We may not always feeeeeeeeeeeeel like we are the best Christians on God s green earth, but we know that Jesus is the best Savior and Lord imaginable. God works all things together for good. Sometimes we can see this principle work out immediately; other times this promise takes quite a while to be fulfilled. This concept of God working on our behalf is taught throughout the Bible, but is so well put in Isaiah 64:4 (New Living Translation): Since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait on Him! Who qualifies for this wonderful promise? Two qualifications are given: [1] For those who love Him simply means those who have trusted in the Almighty as their #1 priority in life; He indeed is our key love, joy, and passion in life. [2] Those who are called according to His purpose means that it is His truth, His agenda, His will, His initiative, His resources that matter, not ours. The key focus of our lives is not on us being good Christians; the focus of our faith is on His goodness and grace. Our eyes are drawn to His purpose, not our own. He is the center of attention, not us. Examples of Romans 8:28 Vs. Murphy s Law: 1 My Trip to Haiti. Years ago I led a team of six people, three men and three women, to go on a short term mission trip to Haiti. We had a contact who lives a ways out of Port-au- Prince, the capital, and had made arrangements for him to meet us at the airport when we arrived. We also brought luggage, supplies, and food (mostly rice and beans for the people) with us. The flight was okay, but Jacques, our contact, was nowhere to be found. We asked around about him, and no one knew who he was. We didn t even have his address. We didn t even know what city or town he lived in! We simply assumed that everyone would be familiar with
good ol Jacques! Not only that. Some of our personal luggage was missing, and another person forgot his wallet. We were flummoxed, to say the least. Like chickens with our heads cut off, not knowing where we were going or what we were supposed to do. We decided to find the cheapest motel we could. If Jacques did not show up or something else open up, we were in BIG trouble because we simply did not have enough money to make it for the two weeks we were going to be there. (Poor planning on our part. Not one person brought a credit card, and none of us brought much cash.) As we were praying together that evening, I brought up how the Lord had been teaching me a lot about Romans 8:28. We got pumped up spiritually and felt a lot better, even though we still had a challenging situation before us. Then something happened. We saw God s loving hand provide for us in so many ways. Jacques did show up. We had places to stay. All our luggage came in. We had a very challenging time ahead of us, but the experience was phenomenal. The real turning point for us was grasping the reality of Romans 8:28 and then seeing the Holy Spirit work on our behalf. 2 A Super Star in the Making. Dave Dravecky had it made. He was a left-handed pitcher for the San Diego Padres, and in his second season he made the All-Star game in 1983. The following year Dravecky helped the Padres to their first championship pennant. On July 4, 1987, the San Francisco Giants acquired Dravecky for their pennant drive. He went 7 5 during the stretch, and in the playoffs pitched a shutout in Game 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals and lost Game 6 by a score of 1 0. Things were going fine until the following season, when a cancerous tumor was found in his pitching arm. In surgery the doctors had to remove half of the deltoid muscle in his pitching arm and actually freeze the humerus bone in an effort to eliminate all of the cancerous cells. However, the next year he was pitching in the minors, and on August 10, 1989, he made a highly publicized return to the major leagues, pitching eight innings and defeating the Cincinnati Reds 4 3. In his following start five days later against the Montreal Expos, Dravecky pitched three no-hit innings, but in the fifth inning, he felt a tingling sensation in his arm. In the sixth inning he started off shaky, allowing a home run to the lead off batter and then hitting the second batter, Andres Galarraga. Then, on his first pitch to Tim Raines, his humerus bone snapped, and Dravecky collapsed. The Giants won the National League pennant in 1989 (defeating the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS in five games), and in the post-game celebration, Dravecky's arm was broken a second time when running out to the mound to celebrate. A doctor examining Dravecky's x-rays noticed a mass in his arm. His cancer had returned, ending his career. Eighteen days later, he retired from baseball, leaving a 64 57 record with 558 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA in 1,062⅔ innings. Could things get any worse? Yes. After two more surgeries, his left arm continued to deteriorate, and on June 18, 1991, less than two years after his comeback with the Giants, Dravecky's left arm and shoulder were amputated.
Did this potential superstar just give up on life, agonizing over his misfortune? No. Why? Because God had something else in mind for Dave Dravecky. You can read about it in his three books entitled Comeback (1990), When You Can t Come Back (1992), and Called Up (2004). He is now a highly sought after Christian speaker, testifying to God s amazing grace and purpose in our lives even during the most disappointing and darkest of times. Murphy s Law has been radically transformed by the reality of Romans 8:28. 3 Death by Cancer. When I was with a mega-church in southern California, the school secretary had some shocking news for us. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer. We thought everything would work out well, since he was only twenty-five and was in tiptop shape. However, within a few months he died. A truly terrible tragedy. Or was it? Though the wife, friends, and family members missed this young man immensely, how was he doing? Infinitely better than those he left behind, since he was with Jesus for all eternity in heaven. Conclusion: In fact, when we think about it, the clearest example of Murphy s Law was Jesus arrest, suffering, and death on the cross. But what about the victory in the empty tomb! Where would we be, if Jesus had not died for us? Romans 8:28 to the rescue! In the power, peace, and purpose of our Savior, Pastor Steve Waterman