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The River ChurchSermons

The Spirit

The Spirit - Gives Us Victory

Josh Combs · Sunday, 31 August 2025 · Romans 8:28-39 · 34:54 · 4,817 words

Romans S19 · 8:28-39 Goodrich

There is no public page for this message yet — the transcript below is the whole of it.

Romans 8:28‑30 shows that for those who love God, all things work together for good, conforming believers to Christ’s image. The sermon explains that God’s plan began before time, continues through life, and extends beyond, offering confidence in trials. Listeners are invited to trust God’s purpose, embrace His unconditional love, and rest knowing nothing can separate them from that love. The message ends with a call to respond to the gospel by faith in Jesus, confessing Him as Lord and believing in His resurrection.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

plan 25 confident 13 interceding 9 god's 33 list 11 love 51 time 28 began 9 color 5 initial 4 god 91 brethren 5

Topics

Election & Predestination 3 Hope 1 Sin 1 Love 1 Faith 1 Suffering 1 Prayer 1 The Gospel 1 Salvation 1

Scripture referenced 24

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Romans 8 0:43 Romans 8:28 0:43 Romans 8:28 1:18 Romans 8:26 1:36 Romans 8:28 2:08 Romans 8:28 3:24 Romans 8:28 5:04 Romans 8:28 7:04 Romans 8:29 9:53 Romans 8:29 9:53 Romans 8:29 11:47 Romans 8:30 13:58 Romans 8 14:37 Philippians 1 14:58 Romans 8:29 16:22 Romans 8:30 16:22 Romans 8:31 16:38 Romans 8:32 16:50 Isaiah 49 21:44 Isaiah 49:34 22:54 Isaiah 49:35 24:09 Isaiah 49:37 24:09 Romans 8:38 30:18 Romans 10 33:01

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

Pre-service announcement — 9 lines, 0:41. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

Hey everyone, my name is Dave Hudgens, and thanks for checking out today's message.

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Chapter 8, we're going to pick up in verse 28.

Paul is writing a letter to Christians in the city of Rome.

And throughout this part of the letter, he is encouraging them that God has given us a hope,

the hope specifically of heaven.

And he says that hope is what sustains.

Sustains us through the pain of the present, or our present circumstances,

as they can be very challenging and difficult.

Verse 28, Paul says,

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to his purpose.

Now, back in verse 26, Paul says,

For we do not know what to pray.

Paul says, in life, sometimes there's some things we don't know.

We don't know how to handle.

Some things we don't know how to address God with.

God, I don't know what to say to you about this.

God, I'm frustrated. I'm afraid. I'm angry. I'm upset. I'm disappointed. Confused.

We go to God, and we don't know what to say.

Paul says, it's okay.

He says, the Spirit intercedes for us.

But now in verse 28, Paul says, we know.

There are some things we don't know, but there are also some things we do know.

Scripture says here that we know that for those who love God.

Now, that means...

And not just Christians in a cultural sense.

Not just Christians in a, my parents christened me or dedicated me.

They're wrong with those things.

The Bible's saying those who have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Those who have turned from sin and turned to Jesus as Lord,

believed in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Those who are Christians.

Jesus would say the great commandment,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So here, this promise that...

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I want to be the bearer of truth.

This promise is not for everyone.

Matter of fact, it's not for everyone sitting in this room.

It's not for everyone that will watch online.

It is for people who have come to Jesus.

Come to Jesus for salvation.

And how Paul describes it here in verse 28.

He says, those who love God.

We know, he writes, that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

All things.

Now, the Bible does not...

The Bible does not say some things.

The Bible does not say most things.

The Bible does not say the things that feel good or the things that you understand.

The things you can comprehend.

The circumstances that you can piece together.

It says, all things work together.

They come together for good.

In the mid-1800s in London, there was a great preacher named Charles Spurgeon.

And in the 1850s, he preached on this passage of scripture.

And he said this.

He said,

He preached that when he has mixed the different experiences of your life together,

they shall produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

We know right well that there are many things that happen to us in our lives

that would be the ruin of us if we were always to continue in the same condition.

Too much joy would intoxicate us.

Too much misery would drive us to despair.

But the joy and the misery, the battle and the victory, the storm and the calm,

all these things will produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

All these things will produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

All these things will produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

All these things will produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

All these things will produce good for your soul and eternal good for your spirit.

All these compounded make that sacred elixir

whereby God makes all his people perfect through suffering

and leads them to ultimate happiness.

So Romans 8, 28 is this incredible promise to God's people.

It's this incredible confidence where Paul says,

we know, and not just I know, he says,

we know as God's people, we can know that all things come together.

God's this incredible artist where the canvas is blank

and there are all of these paint colors there.

Some of colors, that might be our favorite color

and that might be our least favorite color.

But God, this incredible master artist,

takes all of those colors, blends them together

to make a beautiful masterpiece.

That's what God does through storms and calms.

Spurgeon would say joy and misery, battle and victory.

It's leading us to ultimate happiness.

In the Old Testament, there's a story of a man named Joseph.

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers.

Sold into slavery, lied about, forgotten, betrayed.

I'm sure that's just what was done to him.

Imagine the internal struggles of depression, worry and anxiety and fear

and misunderstanding.

All of those emotions would be human and would be normal.

The end of his life when God had redeemed and changed his whole story.

He says to his brothers, what you did, you meant it for evil.

He doesn't say what you did was good.

Bible's not saying everything that is done to you is good.

It's not saying everything that you did was good.

Sometimes there are really evil, terrible things that are done to us.

That's not what the Bible is saying.

Joseph says you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

Meaning God does something that only he can do.

He redeems the worst parts of our life, the most painful experiences.

God takes them and he paints with them on the canvas of our life.

And the end of the story is this glory as the Bible describes it.

All things, verse 28, work together for good to those who are

called according to his purpose.

I was a little boy.

I learned this verse.

I didn't learn it in the English standard version.

I learned it in the King James Bible.

That was the translation of the Bible used when I was a kid.

And so when I quote it, sorry if I misquote it today,

because that's how I'll quote it when I learned it as a kid.

I was reading it this week and I was meditating on thinking about it.

And the phrase that caught my attention was the phrase his purpose.

I'm a pretty type A driven.

I like to accomplish things.

So I have a massive to-do list divided by all the different areas of my life.

So there's my work to-do list and there's my elder to-do list and there's my

five-year to-do list and then there's my personal work to-do list and then

there's my at-home to-do list and then there's my to-do list for my

assistants and then there's my to-do list for the things I need to check out

this podcast or this YouTube or this sermon.

It is scrolling.

I love it.

It might stress you out, but I smile.

I smile every time I see it.

I have purpose.

That's just me.

Now, if you're not that type of person, I'd like you can meet my wife.

That's her.

She just is just get stuff done naturally, but I need a to-do list.

I like to check the to-do list off all of those things.

God spoke to my heart through those two little words.

Just said, Josh, it's not about your purposes.

It's about mine.

So often with our life, we set out with our to-do list and our plans and our

agendas and God's like, oh, that that looks great.

But we're going.

This way and you're like that was going to be awesome.

God takes this huge left turn.

One of the things the Bible wants to speak to your heart today to instill

confidence in your soul is that if you know Jesus you can know this that all

things the things that went according to plan and the things that went completely

sideways the events that came out of nowhere the things that shocked you the

things that brought you great grief the things that absolutely changed your life.

The Bible says those things work.

Together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his

purposes verse 29 gives us his ultimate purpose verse 29 says this for those whom

he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed.

Here's God's purpose to be conformed to the image of his son.

So what are all those circumstances as we're going to talk about in a moment?

What are all those things amounting to it is God.

Shaping you and I molding you and I to become more and more like Jesus when we

read the Gospels when we read Matthew Mark Luke or John we read the stories

about Jesus we see Jesus is perfect Holy character and one of the things that God

is doing through the Gospels is saying this is what I'm conforming you to this

is what I'm going to shape you to again kind of an art illustration.

It's God taking this huge block of marble with all the rough edges and it's

years of chiseling away.

I was chatting with a friend yesterday and I was saying there are parts of my life that

I don't want God to chisel out that maybe some things in my life that I like some some

sin that I have an affection for and God's like no we're going to chisel that out now

and it hurts and it changes me.

But what is God doing?

He is conforming me to the image of Jesus.

He's making me more like his beloved son process is painful the product.

I love I love it when I find myself acting like Jesus.

I love it when I find myself acting like Jesus.

And I wasn't before going be like Jesus be like Jesus be like it just comes out and I'm

like, oh, that's what you're doing in my heart.

I find myself being more patient more caring responding in a genuine authentic loving way

a merciful way a forgiving way and I'm like, oh, thank you Jesus for doing that in my soul.

Look at verse number 29 and 30 because this timeline is really beautiful verse 29 says

for those whom he foreknew foreknew is not like God was standing at the beginning of

time looked across the centuries my okay.

That's going to happen.

That's going to happen.

That's going to happen.

All right angels.

Let's formulate a plan good plan everybody.

Okay, that's how we're going to respond.

That's that's not what it is.

God is outside of time.

So this is a bit deep water here for us to go into here, but we're stuck in time you

and I can't slow down time.

We can't speed up time.

We're stuck in time.

We all are allotted the same amount of time in a day.

We can't make a minute go faster.

We can't make a minute go slower.

It just is what it is.

God is outside of time and what this verse is trying to say here is that before time

began there was eternity and after time comes to an end is eternity here.

We are in kind of this middle spot where there is time God's outside of that.

He was in eternity past and he's in eternity future.

He's there if you want me to explain that any better than that.

I cannot the scripture says before time began those whom he foreknew.

This is a personal God knows you.

God outside of time knew you and saw you before you began before time even began.

My wife and I were chatting about the sermon between gatherings and she just said with

social media and with life people are longing to be seen.

Does anybody see me?

Does anybody know me?

Does anybody care for me?

And what the passages here is saying is before your life ever began before time ever began

God saw you his plan for you started before the foundation of the world.

So those whom he foreknew the Bible says he predestined meaning he determined beforehand.

So God's plan for you started in the past and then we see in verse 30 those whom he predestined

he also called and those whom he called he also justified.

So there's the present in our lifetime.

It's the call of God on our hearts and him justifying us him making us right before God.

Look at the rest of the passage and those whom he justified he also glorified so God's plan

starts before we're born continues for our whole life and the moment we cease to breathe

God's plan doesn't stop it goes beyond that as well.

This is the eternality of God's plan for his people.

So Romans 8 29 and 30 is not meant to be this battleground for the church to be like let's

fight over predestination let's fight over free will let's battle over this what it's

meant to be is meant to be this encouragement to God's people to know that anything you

face you can be confident in that.

God's going to work it out for good because he's been doing that since before you existed

and he will walk that plan all the way to its completion Philippians chapter 1 says

he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

What's the purpose of God what's he doing he is conforming us to the image of his beloved

son he's shaping us to be more like Jesus.

Now there are times where God does things in that plan as I mentioned the weird left

That are hard to understand I look around the room Zach I was thinking about you this

week I should have texted you I'm sorry I didn't there are things that happen in God's

plan we go what the heck and that prayer doesn't start with dear Jesus and in Jesus name amen

it doesn't end that way it's just a what the heck because there are things that happen

in God's plan there are things that happen to us physically or things that happen to

our family there are things that happen to our kids there are things that happen financially

things that happen in the world but this is the confidence that I hope you'll find that

you love God if you are a Christian if you follow Jesus that you can be confident that all things

the things we label good the things we label bad will all come together God will work them

together for his glory and our good that's the promise from God and then verse 29 and verse 30

say that plan has been going on since before time and when time comes to an end that plan will keep

going verse 31 what then shall we say to these things this plan of God this plan of God that

started with you.

What shall we say to these things and here it is if God is for us who can be against us what can be against us if God is doing this if God is working this out we can be confident here's why God has shown himself to be for us in so many ways so many profound ways Paul starts articulate that verse 32 he says he who did not spare his own son but gave him

up for us gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things Paul saying he's already given us his only begotten son why would he not give us all these other things graciously Peter says it this way in second Peter one three his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness it's like going to the bank and signing your mortgage papers you've agreed to

over the next 10 15 30 100 years to pay the bank your mortgage payment each month you've agreed to do that and you sign those papers and I'm not if you're in lending God bless you I'm not mocking your profession one bit but you sign you initial you sign you initial you sign you initial you take a break because you can't write anymore and then you sign a new initial some more and then you miss a spot you have to redo it right you sign so many things at the end of it they have no problem saying hey go ahead and

keep the pen because here's the deal you're going to pay for that pen and the office and the building by time you're done there's no problem throwing in the pen as a complimentary gift Paul is saying God has already given you his only son his very best what is most precious to him would he not with Jesus give us everything else we need things are going to work together for good because God's point

plan began before time runs through time and will keep going after time God is for you and he's shown us time and again that he is for us how did he chiefly most supremely do that he showed us that he was for us by giving us salvation through his only son look at verse 33 who shall bring any charge against God's elect it is God who justifies justifies meaning makes right make someone right before God or has a right status or standing before God and

verse 34 who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of God who indeed is interceding for us so how is God for us we can be confident in God's plan because God's gift of Jesus we can be confident in God's plan because God's made us through Christ right before the Holy God and we can be confident in God's plan because Jesus right now is in

verse 34 who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that who is at the right hand of God who indeed is interceding for us now an intercessor is someone who goes between it's two parties that are at odds and an intercessor goes to one on behalf of another so throughout the Bible there's these different pictures of the way heaven somewhat operates there is God the holy judge of the universe and we have an enemy the enemy is sometimes called Satan or the devil his name literally means the accuser of the brethren the Bible kind of lays this out that he accuses the brethren

day and night like he's just constantly so he's always standing before God accusing the brethren accusing God's people well if my name ever comes up for him to accuse somebody the truth is he doesn't have to make up anything I've given him plenty of material I've made plenty of mistakes like if it's a courtroom and he's got a desk there it's piled high with files of my sin because I messed up a lot so the accuser of the brethren brings a charge against me I can only stand there and say yeah I

I'm guilty of that it's the Bible called Jesus he says Jesus who is indeed interceding for us going to God on our behalf so the accuser of the brethren stands before God and says let me tell you what she did let me tell you what he did and the facts are locked in we are rightfully condemned before God and what does Jesus do Jesus goes to the father on our behalf he intercedes for us Isaiah 49 says it so beautifully

behold I have engraved you on the palms of my hands so this is the beautiful thing that I envision in my mind that the scripture lays out the enemy accuses in Jesus holds up the pierced palms of his hands and says that sin has been paid for it's finished it's paid in full that guilt is no longer on Josh that guilt is no longer on her that guilt is no longer on him that shame that punishment

for that sin was taken upon the cross of Christ and it has been paid for that charge that sentence has been paid completely it's null and void that's what Jesus does for us right now he's interceding for you he's interceding for me if God is for us who can be against us if he says we are not condemned then we are set free verse 34 says Christ is the

one who died more than that he was raised and he is interceding for us so we can be confident we can be confident that the things we label good the things we label bad that come that God's working them all out for good because he has demonstrated his plan for us before time during time after time he's shown us that he is for us by sending his only begotten son for us that son who raised from the dead and is now interceding for us

verse 35 who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation shall distress persecution or famine nakedness or danger or sword shall those things separate us can that break the bond of love between God to us answer in verse 37 is no no in all these things in what things tribulation distress persecution famine nakedness danger sword all those things

and many more we are more than conquerors here's what this passage is trying to say we are confident conquerors through him confident in God's plan we're confident in God's purpose he's conforming us to the image of his son and so we are not being beaten down destroyed by those things we are conquering those things because we have a savior who did die who was raised who is interceding and so we conquer those things through Christ who loves

us sometimes I think we struggle with the love of God personally maybe you grew up around church or catechism or Sunday school and you heard John 316 before so for God so loved the world think we often struggle to make that personal for us God you love the world I suppose I'm included in that but we really struggle with personalizing embracing the love of God the love of God is what makes us confident conquerors in all circumstances

this is the foundation is God's love recently while I was on break this summer read a book return to a book that I read a few years ago and as a substantial section about the love of God and I was writing out some different quotes from the book and I couldn't decide which one to cut so you get to hear them all the writer said divine love God's love is absolutely unconditional unlimited and unimaginably extravagant to be very blunt with you I struggle with the unconditional love of God

it's a word I have a hard time even remembering because it's so foreign to me for that achiever part me in my brain it's achievement equals love if I achieve then God doesn't then God loves me but if I don't achieve how could God love me what worth do I have for him Bible speaks of God's unconditional love the author says an identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God to hear that God knows everything

about you everything you've ever done everything you and I have ever thought and anything we ever will think or anything we ever will do and he loves you until we dare the author continues until we dare to believe that nothing can separate us from God's love nothing we could do or fail to do nor anything that could be done by anyone else to us until we realize that we remain in the elementary grades of the school of spiritual transformation he writes I only know God's love

divine unconditional and radical love for me when I dare to approach God just as I am the self that God persistently loves is not my prettied up pretend self but my actual self the real me so God says I love you with an everlasting love I have engraved you on the palms of my hands so what he says is you don't have to pretty yourself up I know all the dirt already I know all your fears I know all your doubts

I know all your questions I know all the things that haunt you I know all the things you're trying to hide I know all of those things and I love you so much that I sent my only son to die on the cross and he rose from the dead I love you I love you so much I want to spend eternity with you yourself up for God you don't have to make the story sound better than it was or is you can just come to God and say God I'm a wreck and you know it and yet I I don't have to do anything to achieve your love or earn your love

when you say God so loved the world that's me was I think understood that bit about achievement says in verse 38 he says I'm sure there is personal I'm sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers or demonic powers nor things present nor things to come nor power nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord nothing will break forfeit separate us

from the love that we have from God through Jesus there's no circumstance that has happened or ever will happen that can separate you from God's love first to you his forgiveness God offers to you his fellowship he loves you may seem lame but maybe you just need to go home and look in the mirror and say I'm I'm loved by God I think when we think about spiritual matters we think we have to impress God we have to remind God of what we did before or the money we've given or the things and ways we've served and God says no

I don't need to hear any of that I just want you to know I love you before time began I saw you and I've been working out this plan to conform you to the image of my son I am for you and the proof is in Christ the proof is in that he's interceding and nothing can separate you from that love that you have so you me we can trust God's plan for our lives because we've seen his faithfulness and we've received his love we are the confident conquerors but as I said at the beginning

this promise is only followers of Jesus the last phrase there of verse 39 Christ in Christ Jesus our Lord to the gospel the good news is that Jesus died for our sins and Jesus was buried in Jesus rose from the dead that's the gospel the way that we are saved is to respond to the gospel in faith Romans 10 9 says if we'll confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead we will be saved that's the only way to be saved it's not bad

baptism it's not church membership it's not Sunday school catechism it's not serving it's not giving it's none of those things the only way to be saved is not because your mom or your dad or a Christian because your husband your wife your friend your neighbor pastor whatever whatever relational connection you're depending on the only way to be saved from our sin personally to come to God confess Jesus as the king of our life believe that he died and rose from the dead nothing more please hear me closely nothing less