When the Day of Pentecost had fully come…Acts 2:1NKJV

SHAVUOT/ Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. That birth of the Church had been in the long process of coming from before the foundation of the world. The intimate plan of God long held as a great mystery, could now be unfolded in all its beauty and perfection and the devil could do nothing about it. It was finished, completed, sealed by blood covenant that could not be annulled, and ready to be revealed to principalities and powers and all the heavenly host. It was manifested at Pentecost and then revealed in detail to the Apostle Paul as he wrote the book of Ephesians.

Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. Ex 19:20 NKJV

At the first SHAVUOT, the Lord came down at Mt Sinai and gave Moses the written word, making an astonishing promise. Indeed, the grandest plans of God were revealed at the first SHAVUOT, and even greater at the final one.

‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ Ex 19:4-6 NKJV

He gave them the written Word but that was not enough to fully complete them. They needed the Spirit of God as well, which came at the last Shavuot, at the Temple on Mt Zion. God has always intended that His people have the written Word of God and also the Spirit of God in them making them whole – perfect representatives of their Master. The Word of God and the Spirit of God, including all nine gifts, are the two legs so to speak upon which every believer can stand.

THREE LIFECHANGING VERSES

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession (Grk. HUPERENTUGCHANO: super intercession) for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Now He – the Lord Jesus – who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is – the thoughts of your spirit – because He – your spirit – makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28 NKJV

In verse twenty-six we learn an awful truth – we don’t know what to pray for! How humbling that is! Even with all our great sense knowledge, digital technology and scientific wonders, we don’t know what to pray for. When you humble yourself and admit that reality is true, then you are beginning to enter a place where God can meet you and powerfully begin to work in you. We also see that the Lord has made a massive provision for our weakness, which is the ‘super-intercession’ that comes through speaking in tongues, bless God forever!

In verse twenty-seven we learn that the Lord of the universe, who searches the hearts of every human being (which answers a lot of questions…if you think about it), knows the thoughts of our spirits, our hearts. He knows the cares in your heart that you are bringing to Him when you pray in tongues. He knows us intimately and loves us deeply. His care for us personally, without condition and in every situation, is the greatest love one could ever know. We also learn that our spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit when we speak in tongues make intercession according to the perfect will of God. How great is that! Do you see why the devil hates speaking in tongues? Do you see why he distracts us and hinders us from praying in tongues for hours? He knows the power of that ‘super intercession’ that would be released if we did.

Now, with all that in mind, we begin to unpack verse twenty eight…

And we know that all things work together for good (Grk. AGATHOS) to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28 NKJV

‘And.’ So many times I have seen verse twenty-eight quoted or written like it is a stand–alone proverb. People say with a cheerful smile, “All things work together for good!” like as if that were a truth all by itself. That little word ‘and’ says, “You can’t say that because you are quoting it out of context!”

Not all things work together for good. Tragedies happen all the time that are not the will of God and could have been avoided. People say things like that the Columbine High School massacre brought people to Christ, which infers that there is no other way those people could have come to Christ. And, what about the massacres where no one comes to Christ afterward? To say that ‘all things work together for good,’ is just the heathen philosophy of fatalism (‘que sera, sera’ – whatever will be, will be) with a cheerful Christian veneer.

‘And’ tells us that the truths of verse twenty-eight are mitigated or idealized by the truths of verses twenty-six and twenty-seven. ‘We know’ – this is our Greek word EIDO, which we had before, which means to see or to know.

‘All things’ – The word ‘all’ is used in two different ways in the Scriptures, as ‘all without exception’ and ‘all within a category or group.’ Jesus said, If I be lifted up, I will draw all man unto Me. Have all men without exception been drawn to Jesus? No, but all within the category of those who have hungered and thirsted after righteousness have been, or are being, drawn to Him. ‘All’ in verse twenty-eight refers to all things without exception – good, bad or indifferent – will work together under the mighty, sovereign hand of God for good, AGATHOS, when we meet the conditions. This leads to two questions: What is AGATHOS, and what are the conditions?

AGATHOS is used in the Scriptures to describe both God and men. When it is used of God, it means ‘the best possible and conceivable; perfection.’ When it is used of people, and people’s situations, it means ‘the best available’ or ‘the best possible result.’ The translation of AGATHOS as ‘good’ really does not convey the great impact of the word.

What have we learned so far about verse twenty-eight? We’ve learned that the truths there become available to us when we operate in the ‘super-intercession’ of verses twenty-six and seven. Hallelujah! Then, we will see that all things – good, bad or indifferent – will work together through God’s sovereign power for the best possible result when we meet the conditions.

My favorite AGATHOS story involved some lost luggage. Things have gotten better in recent years, but early on in my travels it was a real concern about the arrival of my luggage. I had landed at Entebbe airport in Uganda, having flown thirty hours or more from the west coast of the USA. It was late in the evening. It was hot and humid, and I waited patiently for my luggage to come down the carriage belt. The crowd thinned as everyone else it seemed picked up their luggage…but not me. Finally, the carriage stopped. I was left with no luggage. But ‘ALL THINGS!’

Four days of heat, humidity and sweat later, my hotel gets a call from the airport. My luggage has arrived! Then…something divine happened. I go to the luggage managers office, and there I meet a man who had come to Kampala years before, with the express purpose of getting filled with the Spirit and speaking in tongues. He even attended a Spirit filled college while in Kampala but had not spoken in tongues. That day, the unholy office of the luggage manager was made holy as the Spirit of God came down and filled that man as we prayed. AGATHOS, indeed!

I’ve got to stop and teach you this word ‘worked together’ because this rocked me when I studied it. The Greek word for ‘worked together’ is the word SUNERGEO, from which we get our English word ‘synergy.’ This word is used of God working with us, as well as all things working under His sovereign hand.

And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with (Grk. SUNERGEO, synergizing with) them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:20 KJV

The term ‘synergism’ is explained as ‘the simultaneous actions of separate agencies which, together, have greater total effect than the sum of their individual effects.’ Hello! What does that mean?

It means that when a man or woman comes into relationship with God, that person becomes much more effective in whatever area of life in which he or she works closely with God. That’s synergy! But it also means that God can become much more effective on the earth when man comes into relationship with Him. That’s synergy, as well! The Lord needs YOU to come into relationship with Him so that He, through you, can become more effective on the earth. You are thinking, “God needs ME so that HE can become more effective? Show me a verse, KRP!” Okay…

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV

The Lord could not do what He really wanted to do because He could not find someone to synergize with, to work with, in that situation. Which begs the question, in light of our context – How much could God really do in our world if every born again one spoke in tongues much? If I were a pastor, I would get every born again one in my congregation to speak in tongues like crazy! How great could that church be? How great could that city or nation be? Think about it!

A dear friend of mine commanded his church of over one thousand members to pray in tongues one hour a day for year after hearing me preach this message. Towards the end of the year a healing revival broke out in that church that lasted over three years. I heard about the revival and came back to his church to see what was going on. In his office midweek a Catholic woman brought in her baby who had been paralyzed from the hips down. I just picked the baby up…and its legs were instantly healed and became strong! The Catholic woman gave her heart to Jesus right there. Another woman who had not spoken in ten years spoke when I prayed for her. Healing revival, indeed…

We must look at the conditions, set forth in the Word that allow us to synergize, work together, with God so that He can make all things synergize for the best possible effects for us and His Church.

And we know that all things work together for good (Grk. AGATHOS) to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV

What are the conditions that allow God to cause all things – good, bad and indifferent – to synergize together for our good, AGATHOS, the best possible result?

First, let’s remember that when we flow in the super-intercession of verse twenty-six, by praying in tongues, that we are praying according to the will of God, as stated in verse twenty-seven. The question is, how much time or effort do we need to put into praying in tongues?

Paul spoke in tongues more than the whole Corinthian church, either individually or cumulatively. Paul is also the only New Testament believer that we are told to imitate!

Yeshua said, “He who believes in Me, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living waters…” Yeshua was speaking concerning the great gift of tongues. ‘Rivers’ does not set a standard but rather imparts a vision of massive amounts of water flowing. Rivers flow all the time – how much time? ALL the time – if they have an abundant source. We can conclude that much time and effort should be given daily to praying in tongues!

‘to those who love God’ – what does it mean to ‘love God’? It is the Greek word AGAPAO, which is the verb form of the noun AGAPE. As I began to study the over two hundred usages of these words in the New Testament (interestingly, neither of these words are used in the book of Acts), I realized that the definition I had in my mind for AGAPE was wholly inadequate. As I studied the Word, I saw that AGAPAO/AGAPE is used of God’s love, and of man’s love. I began to define it as ‘a deep fervent concern for the benefit of another.’ If it’s not ‘deep,’ and not ‘fervent,’ it’s not AGAPE. Also, I saw that it had two elements: a bonding, and a transaction, which is greater than PHILEO/PHILOS, another word for love, that really means ‘a friendship.’ Let me show you!

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved (Grk. AGAPAO) me and gave Himself for me (the transaction). Galatians 2:20 NKJV

Before your Mom and Dad ever thought about you, Yeshua had bonded with you and had, out of a deep, fervent concern for your benefit, given Himself for you. The result of that transaction and bonding is that He now lives in you, giving you the greatest life possible, eternal and super abundant.

We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 NKJV

So, what does it mean to ‘love God?’ It’s interesting, because everyone wants God to love them, in other words, to have a deep, fervent concern for their benefit, which results in a transaction. But that’s not what it says! It says that we are to ‘love God,’ which means we are to be bonded to Him and have a deep fervent concern for HIS benefit. How many times are we concerned about the Lord being benefited by our actions? We love Him. We are bonded to Him. Our transaction is that we fervently seek His benefit in all things, which always results in a sacrifice on our parts. Love that has no cost is not love.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV

‘to those who are the called according to His purpose.’ – Every born again one is called to be born again by God’s foreknowledge. It says that He knew us from before the foundation of the world, which, on His part, is where the bonding began. I don’t believe that verse twenty-eight is necessarily talking about salvation here, because the first phrase refers to loving God. Every born again one is loved of God, but not every born again one ‘lives out’ loving God, which certainly has been true of me at times.

…according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…2 Timothy 1:8-9 NKJV

The Lord can and will bless you wherever you are, whatever you are doing. But there is a special place of rest, a special place of blessing, according to His calling and purpose, where He is able to synergize all things to bring AGATHOS to you. I have found that if I am just faithful to what He has called me to, and purposed for my life, as He gives me grace to understand it, then things just ‘fall together’ almost effortlessly to bring me to the best possible result. Do you understand?

If I pray in tongues and love Him, if I am bonded to Him and fervently seek His benefit, as I faithfully walk in His calling and purposes, then I see all things synergize to bring the best possible result to me. The three conditions that allow God to synergize all things together to bring the best possible result in my life are that I pray much in tongues, I love God fervently, and I faithfully walk in His calling and purposes for my life as I understand them. With this understanding of the great gift of the Spirit, may we so walk that He is glorified and all things work together for the greatest possible results. Amen? Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…