2026-0906 Sunday Service - Rev Christopher Nelson - Come Hell Or High Water

Romans 8:28 gives a promise that is beloved, but often misunderstood. Paul does not say that cancer, betrayal, abuse, sin, or death are good. Paul says that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. That good is not a life arranged around personal comfort. That good is God conforming His people to the image of His Son.

The call to follow Jesus requires a settled determination: come hell or high water, “I belong to Jesus Christ.” The church will win because its destiny is sure in God, no matter what the enemy, the news, persecution, or circumstances may say. Christlikeness becomes the whole plan, not making people little gods or building personal kingdoms, but making them more like Jesus.

The Holy Ghost forms Christ in a life through truth, people, and circumstances. The Word becomes a lamp, a correction, an encouragement, and a mirror that exposes motives hidden even from the heart itself. The church becomes God’s community for growth, where difficult people may reveal things in the spirit that need to be addressed. Circumstances become classrooms where patience, forgiveness, peace, faith, and long suffering are developed under pressure.

The contrast between becoming God and becoming godly matters deeply. The Holy Ghost does not call believers to imitate Jesus from a distance, but to let Jesus inhabit the life from the inside out. God works on thoughts, speech, private conduct, relationships, disappointments, and responses to people who bring no benefit. Christian maturity means more than knowing about Jesus. Christian maturity means becoming more like Jesus.

The four kinds of problems require discernment. Trouble caused by personal sin calls for repentance. Temptation calls for resistance, not negotiation, and sometimes the most spiritual response is simply taking the exit. Trespass calls for release, because forgiveness refuses to let another person’s offense become personal identity. Trials that were neither chosen nor earned call for rejoicing, not because pain is enjoyable, but because God brings purpose into testing.

God does not waste the storm. The furnace may become the place where chains fall off, because Christ is already waiting inside. Romans 8:31 gives the final word over every collapse, wound, failure, and fearful report: if God is for His people, the enemy does not get the last word.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s good makes believers Christlike [28:14] Romans 8:28 cannot be reduced to a promise that every outcome will feel pleasant. Romans 8:29 defines the good as conformity to Christ’s image. God may use what hurts to produce what lasts. Christlikeness is greater than temporary comfort. [28:14]
• 2. Truth, people, and storms shape character [33:53] The Holy Ghost uses the Word to correct minds and expose hidden motives. God also uses church relationships, including difficult ones, to teach patience, humility, forgiveness, and service. Circumstances become classrooms where the fruit of the Spirit grows under real pressure. [33:53]
• 3. Repentance is the doorway back home [43:29] Trouble caused by personal sin cannot be healed through blame, excuses, or renamed disobedience. Repentance brings responsibility into God’s presence, where mercy can meet it. The Father’s call is not humiliation, but “come home.” [43:29]
• 4. Forgiveness keeps wounds from defining identity [46:34] Trespass wounds deeply, but bitterness gives another person’s actions authority over the injured heart. Forgiveness does not call evil good or deny what happened. Forgiveness says, “Refuse to let what you did become what I am.” [46:34]
• 5. Trials do not receive the final word [48:35] Rejoicing in a trial does not mean enjoying pain. Rejoicing recognizes that testing can produce patience, purify faith, and bring God’s presence into a dark place. The fire may reveal that Christ was waiting inside before the chains ever fell off.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [16:33] - Returning to Church Family
• [18:50] - Romans 8:28-31
• [21:08] - Come Hell or High Water
• [24:44] - All Things Work Together for Good
• [27:47] - God’s Purpose: Christlikeness
• [30:36] - The Fruit of the Spirit
• [33:53] - Truth, People, and Circumstances
• [42:11] - Different Storms, Different Causes
• [43:01] - Troubles, Temptations, Trespasses, Trials
• [48:35] - Rejoicing in the Trial
• [53:39] - Let God Work in the Storm
• [55:03] - God Has the Final Word
• [57:44] - Invitation for Prayer

Bible Reading

Romans 8:28-31
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” [19:14]

Romans 8:29
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” [27:44]

James 1:2-3
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” [49:22]

Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” [30:36]

2 Corinthians 3:18
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” [31:35]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 8:28-31, what words describe God’s work from beginning to end, and what is the stated purpose in verse 29? [25:45]
2. Which specific character qualities are listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23? Which of those qualities especially stands out in hard circumstances?
3. What three instruments does God use to form Christlike character: truth, people, and circumstances? What does each one reveal or develop? [33:53]
4. What four kinds of problems are identified, and what response belongs to each one: trouble, temptation, trespass, and trial? [53:46]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 8:28 says all things work together for good, while Romans 8:29 defines that good as being conformed to Christ’s image. How does this keep a believer from treating painful things as if they were good in themselves? [25:10]
2. A believer may want God to remove a difficult circumstance immediately. What might it mean that God is sometimes seeking to put something into a person before bringing them out of the situation? [39:20]
3. James calls believers to count trials as joy, not because pain is pleasant, but because testing produces steadfastness. What can rejoicing look like when a person is still hurting and has no clear answer for why the trial came? [50:45]
4. A difficult relationship can expose impatience, pride, harshness, or unforgiveness. How can a believer recognize the difference between wisely setting boundaries and using another person’s behavior as an excuse to avoid God’s work in their own heart? [38:14]

Application questions

1. Romans 8:29 says God’s purpose is to make His people more like Jesus. In what area does Christlikeness need to become more visible this week: thoughts, speech, private conduct, disappointment, or the way you treat others? [29:47]
2. Think about a current storm in your life. Does it seem most like trouble caused by your own choices, temptation pulling you toward sin, a trespass committed against you, or a trial you did not choose? What response does that call for? [53:51]
3. If there is a trouble you helped create, what would honest repentance look like? Is there a sin to name plainly, an excuse to stop making, or a step of responsibility to take? [44:01]
4. Where are you most tempted to negotiate with temptation rather than resist it? What “exit” could you take before the temptation grows—closing something, ending a conversation, leaving a place, or calling a trusted believer? [45:24]
5. Is there a wound or offense that has begun to shape how you see yourself, other people, or God? What could it mean to say, “What they did will not become what I am”? [48:12]
6. Which fruit of the Spirit do you most need in your present circumstances—peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, or another quality? How might this situation become a place for that fruit to grow? [40:41]
7. What would a settled confession of “Come hell or high water, I belong to Jesus Christ” look like in one practical decision this week? [24:08]