God is Good, All the Time
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Pastor Jojo Ma
Weekly Bulletin | Song Lyrics | Nicene Creed
Acts 23:1-35
1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
How can you not so much, “Let go and let God”, but as J.I. Packer rightly said, “Trust God and get going”?
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.
God is working out every detail of your life according to His purpose and His plan. Yes, we feel disappointed when things don’t pan out, we can feel lost when trials come, but like the apostle Paul, we must learn to trust God and get going.
I. Rest in God’s Power
II. Rely on God’s Wisdom
III. Recognize God’s Involvement
IV. Relinquish to God’s Purposes
V. Remember God’s Goodness
I. Rest in God’s Power
11 The following night the Lord stood by [Paul] and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
What are some things in your life right now that you need to stop trying to control, things bringing you down, making you anxious, pushing you to anger? Seriously think about it and practice what Paul practiced. God is in control so you don’t have to be.
II. Rely on God’s Wisdom
Prov 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
He wants us to be people of the Word, interpret the Bible correctly and apply it diligently, and walk by faith. That is how we rely on God’s wisdom.
III. Recognize God’s Involvement
It makes a big difference when we see God is writing the story and God is actively involved in every chapter and every page.
IV. Relinquish to God’s Purposes
God wants our holiness, our godliness, our Christ-likeness. And these things are primarily formed through troubles and trials, through disappointments and difficulties, not through ease and comfort.
We don’t need to conform to the world, we need to conform to God’s Word. We need to lay down our agenda for His. We need to surrender and give up and relinquish our purposes to God’s purposes.
V. Remember God’s Goodness
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage…”
In your distress, in your doubts, in your difficulties, and in your disappointments, remember God’s goodness --- and especially His goodness at the cross.