Essential Scripture 1

Essential Scripture
September 13, 2019

During this covid pandemic, we’ve become familiar with the term “essential worker.”
People were told to stay home during the initial quarantine/self-isolation period, unless
they were designated as “essential workers.” We’ve honored those in this category who
were willing to continue to work in spite of the possibility of contagion.
Most people in this category were also grateful to be able to continue to have this
income.
The loose definition of an essential worker was, basically, anyone who did a job we
cannot do without.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, essential jobs include:
{Feel free to give a shout out if you hear your vocation mentioned… or type in a
“hooray” if you’re online with us this morning…”|
…energy, child care, water and waste(water), agriculture and food production,
“critical retail” (which includes grocery stores, hardware stores and mechanics),
critical trades, (including construction, electricians, plumbers, etc.), transportation,
and nonprofits (whew) and social services.
Of course there are others not mentioned we consider essential too, such as educators
and medical workers and first responders and law enforcement and cafeteria workers
and uber drivers and airline pilots and realtors and security and chiropractic office
workers and military and college bookkeepers and HR managers and wedding planners
and court system IT workers and pet-sitters and hair stylists and nail technicians too!
Just as the term “essential worker” has become an important phrase in our current
culture, I would like to invite you to consider the importance of essential Scripture, too.
Scripture we cannot do without.
Today, and for the next few weeks, I want to help you get some “essential Scripture” into
your heart, mind, soul and spirit.
There is so much in the Bible which is so important, it would be impossible to ever
separate out just some verses and disregard the rest. So as we highlight some essential
Scriptures, keep in mind It all ties together. It is one book.
It is the story of God and His people. And that includes us, today.
We learned recently in a small group studying 2 Timothy that “All Scripture is God-
breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Tim 3:16.
{A lot of “3:16s” are important too! John 3:16, etc.

-6-

Look them up sometime when you’re looking for something to do…}
This is an essential Scripture too. Please memorize it if you haven’t already. Write it
down. Post it where you’ll see it often. Reward yourselves, or others, for being able to
recite it by memory if that helps. Please read the Bible daily, or at least several times a
week. If you’re not, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a hunger to do so. This is how we
become “equipped!”
For after all, another essential Scripture comes to us from Psalm 119:11 which states: “I
have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”
We don’t want to sin against our Holy God because He is holy and we are too, in Christ.
In fact, because of our relationship with Him through Christ, we can trust that we have
nothing to fear, for He has cleansed us by His blood and clothed us in His
righteousness.
While I was away in Maine, I did a word study on righteousness. The Bible has a lot to
say about this word. And it ties in with last week’s message + today’s essential Scripture
too.
At the beginning of this book of Romans, Paul writes “it is those who obey the law,” or
the ways of God, “who will be declared righteous.” (1:13)
And in 1:17 we read “the righteous will live by faith.”
Faith is extremely important to someone who is loving God, and can trust, implicitly,
unequivocally, undoubtably, that God is working all things together for us who love
Him! Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain
of what we cannot see.”
Beloved, I want to assure you today that no matter what it is you’re going through, if you
truly and genuinely love God and believe in His Son Jesus Christ, He IS working
everything out for you! And if you haven’t decided yet to choose to love Him and believe
in His Son, today is the day to make that decision! [Prayer, as led.]
This doesn’t mean it won’t be painful. It will. This doesn’t mean it might not take a while.
It might. But no matter what we’re struggling with, we can trust God. He loves us. He
wants the best for us.
When we follow His ways we can be assured that’s where the “sweet spot” is.
There’s a book I’ve been reading for several months now that teaches about the
fruitfulness in our lives which come from pruning.
If you’re familiar with gardening, you know every fruitful plant must be pruned to
produce better and healthier fruit, or flowers, or whatever it may be.

-6-

So it is in our lives. We don’t want to go through painful times, but isn’t that when we cry
out to God, and others, for help and draw the closet to Him? And others?
Isn’t that from where we learn the most important lessons of our lives?
Isn’t that why Paul also wrote in 2 Cor. 9:9,10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient
for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ “Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for
Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, than I am strong.”
When we confess to Him we feel weak and we need Him, He comes through. Every
time. Think back to all the times in your life when this was the case and how He was
always faithful. We sang earlier a song entitled “Do it Again.” It praises God for His
faithfulness. It said “I’ve seen You move… And I believe I’ll see You do it again.”
Dear sisters and brothers, whatever mountain you may need moved in your life this
morning, I want to encourage you today! I want to encourage you to not give up.
Trust Him. Hang in there. Have peace. Continue to cry out to God. He hears you.
And He will “do it again.”
Romans 1:17 says “The righteous will live by faith.”
Whatever it is we’re struggling with right now, let’s let it grow our faith. We have on the
right clothes for the occasion, because we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness!
Another essential Scripture comes to us from Paul and Philippians 1:9-11
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and
depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and
blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.”
The fruit of righteousness in our lives comes through Jesus Christ. We are cleansed by
His blood and clothed in His righteousness.
Paul also assured us, and the believers in Rome, that “righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3:22.
Paul had a lot to say about righteousness in the book of Romans. In 5:21 he said “so,
also, grace might reign through righteousness…”
Have you ever thought about this before? Dan mentioned it in his message. When we
have a “we” mentality, (this was Mike Shannon’s message too), instead of a “me”
mentality, we are grateful for grace.
A true follower of Christ walks in God’s grace and embraces and appreciates this gift,
and lives with gratitude and humility at what God has given and continues to give, which
we don’t deserve.

-6-

Are we living with gratitude and humility and thankfulness for His grace?
Or are we, instead, complaining and negative and arrogant and self-sufficient and
ungrateful? These last attitudes are behaviors we can work to eliminate as we realize
that “God works all things together for those who love Him and are called according to
His purpose.”
In fact, because of our great gratitude and His ongoing work in our lives and our love for
Him and His purpose for us, we respond to another of Paul’s writings from Romans
6:13b.
We offer the parts of our body to Him as “instruments of righteousness.”
That’s right. What we see, or watch. What we hear, or choose to listen to. What we say.
Or choose to not say. What we do, or don’t do, with our hands. And the same for our
arms and legs.
We do this because “We have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness.” Romans 6:18. And “now, we offer them in slavery to righteousness
leading to holiness.” For an inspiring message on holiness, I invite you to watch last
week’s video from Amanda Stiles if you haven’t already. It is powerful.
{Thnx to Dan, Mike + Amanda if haven’t already}
So, if righteousness is being in right relationship with God, though faith in Christ, then
this leads to increased holiness, which is increased Presence of God. When we obey,
we are increasing in faith.
Today I invite you to increase your faith. Choose to believe that no matter what it is
you’re going through, God knows. God cares. God is at work on your behalf.
The New Testament church grew stronger in their faith in God, and one another.
We’re excited about starting up our Life Groups this week! Make sure you contact one
of our Group Leaders, or the office, about jumping in and sharing the faith life in one of
these groups.
I’m happy to tell you there will be a Tuesday, Wed., or Th. option. And Zoom for all, with
one group giving you the option to meet in person too. You will receive additional tools
for living a successful faith life. You will be encouraged and prayed for, among many
other things.
It’s SO IMPORTANT to have fellow Christ followers with whom to share life. It’s so
important to grow in integrity with how others see what they “read” in our lives.
Being in a small group is the best way for this to happen.
Paul writes to the Corinthians, and to us, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our
hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the
result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on
tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

-6-

This is just one of the teachings we’ll be looking at, together, this coming week.
Have you ever thought of your life as a letter others are reading? If this dismays you, it’s
never too late to grow more in closeness and holiness with God.
Meanwhile, our essential Scripture for today is Romans 8:28.
Many of you know it by heart. I believe you’ll hear something new about this Scripture
today that will equip you with further, fresh revelation.
This verse is a great comfort to us when we don’t understand what is happening in our
lives.
Let’s look at what it says:
The NIV reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
This verse is often misquoted. Make sure you learn it, own it, and get it correct.
Sometimes people will say “all things work together…” It isn’t that!
Its God working all things together.
When Paul wrote this letter to the people in Rome, (Hence the name of the book,
“Romans,”), he was writing in Greek from a Greek city, Corinth.
The Greek version of this verse reads something like this:
“We know now that to those loving God, God works all things together for good for
those who are being called according to His purpose.”
Notice several things about this essential Scripture:
It is in present tense. Then, and now. In other words, it is something we are currently
doing. It is something God is currently doing. We are loving Him, right now! Not ten, or
twenty, or thirty years ago (or more) when someone else took us to church as a child.
Not later on when we think we’ll have more time, it’s our mindset and our lifestyle now!
We choose to love God. We choose to live as people who love God.
The Greek word for “works together” is cool. It’s “sunergeo.” (sun er cho) Notice it looks
and sounds a bit like the word “energy” is in there. God is using His energy, like the sun,
for us!
He employs His endless, unlimited, rich resources on our behalf!
“Even when we can’t see Him, He’s working,” we’re reminded in the song“WayMaker.”
3) Don’t miss this: there is a condition in this verse. It is conditional.
In everything we are going through, not just some, but all… God is working for
good for… who?
Anyone? No! For those who LOVE HIM!
This is one of those great promises of God found in the Bible. But it’s not just for
anyone. It is for those who love Him, and are called according to His plan and
purpose for their lives.
How do we know if we love Him?

-6-

We OBEY Him. We follow His ways. We obey His commands.
Henry Blackabee of Experiencing God says if we have an obedience problem we have
a love problem.
It’s true. Think about it.
Hosea 14:9 reads “Who is wise? They will realize these things. Who is discerning? They
will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the
rebellious stumble in them.”
Today we can come to the altar and receive the Lord’s Supper and confess any
rebelliousness within us and asked to be cleansed from it. We can ask the Holy Spirit to
give us a fresh infilling of His Presence and His self-discipline to turn away from the
rebelliousness. We can ask for a fresh infilling of a desire to be obedient to our God.
Jesus Christ was anything but rebellious. He could have chosen not to obey His
Father’s will, which was the most difficult calling anyone ever had on their lives, but He
chose obedience. In fact, I believe Amanda mentioned this section of essential Scripture
last week. In Phil 2:8 we’re told “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient… even to
death - even death on a cross!”
And therefore, because of this obedience, God “exalted Him to the highest place…”
The Passion Translation puts Romans 8:28, and some of :29 like this: “So we are
convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s
perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are His lovers who have been called
to fulfill His designed purpose. For He knew all about us before we were born and He
destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of His Son.”
That’s the goal. To be like Christ.
And God is doing His part we’re told in Romans 8:28. Now, how about us?
Are we doing our part? Are we truly living as His Covenant people? [Unpack this!]
If not… we can start today.
Because, after all… [Romans 8:28]