Romans 8:26-30 "Sustained in Suffering"

1:01After the fall and our sin and the consequences of our sins, suffering is simply part of life in this world. And in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul says, In light of all of the glory that is to be ours when Jesus returns, when we are adopted into his family fully and finally and completely, like we talked about last week, when we are raised and resurrected in our new perfect eternity, Bodies, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, all of our present suffering is light and momentary.

1:39Light and momentary. I trust that that is true. And if you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, I trust that you think that is true also. But if we're honest, in the midst of our suffering, it does not feel light or momentary, does it? Marriage problems do not feel light and momentary. Career setbacks, academic failures do not feel light or momentary. Relationship disappointments, chronic illness or pain, they don't feel light or momentary. Mockery for our faith, estrangement from family and friends because of what we believe, none of that feels light and momentary.

2:32And so, if you've been with us over the past while, we've been talking about suffering a lot lately because suffering is a major theme of all of the Bible, but certainly of Romans chapter 8. And you might agree with everything that I've said. You might agree with everything that the Bible says about suffering and about it being light and momentary in view of our eternal glory that is to come. But in the moment when you are going through suffering, it Does not feel light or momentary. You feel like you're going to be crushed by it.

3:07You feel like it's going to go on forever. You feel like, what is the point of all of this? Am I going to make it through the suffering that I'm experiencing? And I have lived enough life at this point to know that if you are not already there, or if you haven't just been there, you are going to be there soon. in a season of suffering. Nobody makes it through this life without suffering. This is what Jesus said.

3:36In this world, you will have trouble. Thankfully, our text today is packed with good news for saints who suffer. Paul is going to continue with the theme of suffering before glory, that same theme we've been exploring the past few weeks. And the passage is going to end with, once again, Paul pointing us to that future glory that we can expect. But before he gets there, he's going to teach us that we don't just have hope for the future.

4:09We have hope in the present. I want to bring up this verse from the call to worship. This is Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God is our refuge and strength, a very Present help in trouble. Friends, that is such good news. The God of the Bible, the God of Christianity, your God and my God, is not like the false gods of this world who are present but powerless.

4:48And he is not like the God of deism, a God who is powerful but distant. No, our God, the God of the Bible, is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. He is neither powerless nor distant. He is all-powerful, and he is within you through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The question is: how exactly? How exactly is God our very present help in trouble? Well, that's what we're going to see in these verses today, Romans 8, 26 through 30.

5:36In suffering, we are sustained by the Spirit's prayer and the Father's purpose. In suffering, we are sustained by the Spirit's prayer and the Father's purpose. Let's see how we're sustained by the Spirit's prayer first. Look at verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit helps us. Helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Now you notice these verses begin with the word likewise, connecting verse 26 to the previous section from last week.

6:19And Paul is saying that just like our future hope in seasons of suffering, just like our future hope helps us, the Holy Spirit also helps us in our weakness, in our times of groaning. I want you to remember: the Holy Spirit is not an it, like the force in Star Wars or something. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity, who dwells inside of us through faith in Christ. In John 14, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Helper.

6:55And the Holy Spirit, the helper, helps us in our weakness, that is, in our fallen humanity. Because of our sin and because of the broken world that we live in, we are weak people, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We are weak, aren't we? It is good to acknowledge that, to say that out loud to ourself and to other people. We are weak. I suppose in every generation it's been a temptation to project strength. But we know for sure that in our generation, it is a unique. Temptation to project strength in a TikTok world where you're supposed to present yourself like you always have everything together, like you're crushing every aspect of life, like we all get up at 3 o'clock in the morning and make ourselves farm fresh eggs with avocado and whatever those guys do.

7:50We're doing well to crush any area of our life, am I right? Much less all of the areas of our life. But this is what we are tempted to project. But the truth is, friends, we are weak. We suffer in many ways for a whole host of reasons, some of which are our fault, some of which are not. But the good news is we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, our helper, who helps us in our weakness.

8:14How can he do that? Well, look at the second sentence of verse 26. Paul says, For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Paul says, We don't know what to pray for. Have you ever felt that way? I feel that way often. I feel that way all the time. Maybe there's some situation that I've never encountered before in my own life or in one of your lives.

8:54And I know I need to pray, but I don't know what to pray. Or maybe I'm Facing the exact same situation I've faced hundreds of times in my own life or in your life, and I don't know what to pray. I feel out of words for the situation. You ever experienced these things? Just feeling like you do not know what to pray? Well, in these situations, I should know what to pray. I should. Did you catch that in the verse? That's what Paul says here. Look at what he says. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought. As we ought.

9:33I ought to know what to pray for. You ought to know what to pray for. That's what Paul says. How can Paul say that we ought to know what to pray for? Well, friends, we have God's word, which reveals God's will to us. God's word not only teaches us how to pray, it teaches us what to pray for. There are many examples in Scripture of people praying, many times where the Bible is teaching us what to pray. So if we don't know what to pray for, it's as simple as opening the Bible and praying God's word right back to Him. Over the past few years, I've been learning to pray through the Psalms, the prayer book of the Bible. If you don't know what to pray, it's as simple as opening the Word, reading a passage, and saying, What can I adore God for? What can I confess to God? How can I thank God? What can I ask God for? We ought to know what to pray because we have God's Word.

10:40And so we should use it. But, brothers and sisters, even though we have God's Word, there are still times where we just don't know what to pray, especially when we are suffering. Especially in those times. Here's the good news. Look at verse 26 again. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Paul says that God gave us His Holy Spirit so that in moments where we don't know what to pray for or how to pray, the Holy Spirit takes the wheel and says, I've got this.

11:24God the Holy Spirit prays to God the Father on our behalf. This is so encouraging, not just because we don't always know what to pray for, but because we often can't find the right words to pray. It is encouraging because sometimes when we pray, especially when we are suffering, we are asking for the wrong things. In times of suffering, our great temptation is to ask for our will to be done rather than for God's will to be done.

12:01I mean, think about it. What is our most common prayer when we're suffering? Something along the lines of God, make it stop. God, make it stop. Now, is that wrong to pray? Definitely not. Before Jesus was arrested and beaten and crucified, he was suffering. He was in agony. He wanted it to stop. And he asked his father to make it stop. But look at how Jesus prays. Matthew 26. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me. God, make it stop.

12:44Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. You see, Jesus asked his father to take the suffering away. He asked God for exactly what he wanted. But then he prayed a prayer that trumped that initial request: nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Father. Again, it's not wrong to pray that we would not suffer or that we wouldn't suffer anymore. Jesus does that very thing. But he also prayed that God's will would be done, which is exactly what the Holy Spirit helps us to do. Look at verse 27.

13:28And he who searches heart, Knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. He who searches hearts, that is God the Father, knows what is the mind of the Spirit. The Father is God, and the Spirit is God. So the Father knows the mind of the Spirit. They are of one heart and one mind, the same heart and the same mind. And since they are of one heart and one mind, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. God the Holy Spirit only prays for us in line with the will of God the Father. The Spirit wants what the Father wants, so the Spirit always gets what he asks for.

14:26That is how the Helper helps us in our weakness, by interceding for us according to the will of God. Friends, we need that especially when we are suffering. Not only because we can't find the right words to pray, but because we are tempted to pray for our will to be done rather than for God's will to be done. If that sounds scary to you, I can understand that. It is a scary thing. It feels scary, anyways, to say, Lord, your will be done. Why is that? You ever thought about that? Why do we hesitate to pray for God's will to be done?

15:08Because at the end of the day, we think we know what's best. We think we know what's best for us, for our career, for school, for our relationships, for our children, especially for our children. We think we know what's best, so we're scared to pray, God, your will be done. But it's like what one of the great theologians, Garth Brooks, said: Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Some of his greatest gifts to us. Imagine if you got everything you ever asked for.

15:54You would be terrified and broke trying to manage the hippopotamus that you had to have for Christmas. Thank God that when we are suffering and we don't know what to pray for, we have the Holy Spirit, the helper, who is interceding for us according to the will of God. Not only does he have the words when we don't have the words, he always prays according to the will of God the Father. So in suffering, we are sustained by the Spirit's prayer. And in verses 16, 28 through 30, we're going to see that in suffering, we are also sustained by the Father's purpose. Look at verse 28.

16:41And 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. Well, we may not know what to pray for when we're suffering, but we do know something.

17:24We know that all things, including our suffering, work together for good. We know that. But how can we know that? That is a very bold claim that Paul is making here, that all things, including our suffering, work together for good. How can we know that? Well, here's how Paul says you can know that. I want you to look on the screen. This is kind of the flow of these verses. Before the foundation of the world, God chose to love You the most loving thing God can do is make you like his son, Jesus. So God will work all things together for that good purpose. That's the flow of these verses. Before the foundation of the world, God chose to love you. The most loving thing that God can do is make you like Jesus. So God will work all things together for that good purpose. Okay, let's walk through the steps of Paul's argument here. First, before the foundation of the world, God chose to love you.

18:40Now, I thought Paul was talking about our love for God. I mean, isn't that what verse 28 says? Take a look there. He says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. Those who love God. Well, that's exactly right. Paul is talking about those who love God. But the question is, why do you love God? Why does anyone love God? 1 John 4:19 tells us, We love because He first loved us.

19:21Let those words sink in for a moment. We love because He first loved us. You love God because he loved you first. His love is not based on our love. Our love is based on his love. That is what John is saying. That is what Paul is basing this argument on. Our love is based on his love, and so it is eternally secure. That's what Paul is showing us in verses 29 and 30. Theologians call this the golden chain of salvation: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. The golden chain of salvation that cannot be broken. You try to take out any one of these links, and the chain breaks apart. The golden chain of salvation. Let's look at that. Verse 29.

20:20For those whom he foreknew. I want you to look at the language there. For those whom he foreknew. Paul is not talking about decisions. He's not talking about actions. He's not talking about something that you decided or did. He's talking about people. People that he knew and loved before the foundation of the world. Remember, God does not love us because we first loved him. We love because he first loved us. So Paul says, for those whom he foreknew. He's referring to people he chose to love before the foundation. Of the world. Look what Ephesians 1.4 says.

21:05Even as he chose us before the foundation of the world. Brothers and sisters, you can know that all things work together for good because you are loved by God. And you have been loved by God since before the foundation of the world. Look at verse 29 again. 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. Now, that word predestined means to decide beforehand. To decide beforehand. Because God loved us before the foundation of the world, he also chose us and created us to be conformed to the image of his son. Look at the rest of Ephesians 1:4.

22:07Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, why? For what purpose? That we should be holy and blameless before him. Friends, God loved us before the foundation of the world. And the most loving thing that God could do is sanctify us, is to conform to us. us to the image of his son, Jesus. That's what sanctification means. It is the lifelong process of becoming like Jesus, of becoming holy and blameless before God, like Ephesians 1 talked about. There is nothing better than for us to be like Jesus because Jesus is perfectly holy and to be perfectly holy is to be perfectly happy.

22:59That is one of the reasons that we don't pursue holiness with more vigor is because we are not convinced that to be perfectly holy is to be perfectly happy. But Jesus is perfectly holy. And because he's perfectly holy, he is perfectly happy. I want you to think about how suffering plays into all of this. Look at James chapter 1 on the screen. James writes this. Count it all joy, my brothers. Listen to that word. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

23:49Friends, thank God that he first loved us, that he knew us before the foundation of the world, that he chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son, and that God is so powerful that he can use even our trials, even our sufferings, to make us more and more like Jesus, to sanctify us, to make us holier and holier, and through that process, to make us happier and happier. Because to be perfectly holy is to be perfectly happy. Brothers and sisters, you can know that all things work together for good because you are loved by God. And because that is true, He will use all things, even your suffering, to conform you to the image of His Son, which is the best thing that could ever happen to you.

24:38But before our sanctification can begin, God has to call us to Himself. That's what we see in verse 30. Look there. And those whom He predestined, He also called. God's calling is always effective. My calling is not always effective. I call to my children many times every day. It does not seem to be very effective. Perhaps less so in these teenage years. But God's call is always effective. Look at all that Jesus says in John. It begins in John 6:37. Jesus says, All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.

25:27Look at John 6:44. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. Look at John 10. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them. But all that the Father gives to Jesus will hear his voice, and they will come. God's calling is always effective. So you can rest assured that if you have heard and you have answered the call of God, it is because you are loved and chosen by God. He intends to conform you to the image of his Son, even and especially through your suffering. Verse 30.

26:27And those whom he called, he also justified. Justified means declared righteous, as we talked about earlier in Romans. Every Christian is loved and chosen by God, predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, and justified or declared righteous. And what that means, friends, is that when you are suffering, it is not because God is angry with you. It is not because you've sinned and fallen short in some way. And you can know that because you are already justified. When God looks at you, he does not look at a dirty sinner. He looks at a person, a man, a woman, or a child, who has been washed completely clean by the blood of Christ.

27:20When you suffer, you are not being punished by God. He looks at you and he sees one who is as righteous as Jesus Himself. But God's end purpose for you is not just to declare you righteous, it's to actually make you righteous, to sanctify you completely, to conform you to the image of His Son. That's why He allows you to suffer. And He's using that suffering for His good purposes, not because you don't have God's favor, but in fact, because you already do have God's favor. You are justified by faith. And now, the last phrase, look at verse 30. And those whom He justified, He also glorified.

28:08God says that He will adopt and He will resurrect our bodies to be like Jesus' perfect resurrected body. So not only are you loved by God, chosen by God, declared righteous by God, you will be glorified by God. And did you catch this? The word is in the past tense. He also glorified. Paul says this is so sure, this is so certain, that he can speak of it as though it's already happened. You, in God's eyes, are already glorified. That's how certain it is. When we are suffering, it is common for us to feel unsure about all kinds of things in our life. And so, friends, Paul wants to reassure us here at the end of Romans 8 that in suffering, you are being sustained by the Father's good purpose for you. Paul is showing us how we can know all things work together for good. So, take a look at the flow one more time. I want you to get this into your minds, but even more importantly, into your heart. Before the foundation of the world, God chose to love you. The most loving thing God can do is make you like His Son, Jesus. So, God will work all things together for that good purpose. Friends, if the God of the Bible does not exist, then suffering in this world is only sad and meaningless.

29:39No matter what people say, no matter how people try to pretend about some kind of legacy that you're going to leave here on earth, the fact of the matter is, if God does not exist, all suffering is sad and meaningless. But the God of the Bible does exist, and He is all-powerful and perfect. Good. He loves his children. He loves you. And he loves you so much and is so powerful that he can use all things, including your suffering, to bring about his good purpose. Friends, he proved his love once and for all to you by sending his son to die on the cross. Never forget that the God that we serve is not a God who is unacquainted with suffering and unfamiliar with grief. The God of Christianity is the only God who suffered for his people.

30:36Jesus came and he lived and he died and he rose again. He experienced even more suffering than we will ever experience in our lives. And he did it for you. He did it for me. Since all that is true, we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. Everything that God does, everything he decrees, everything he allows in our lives is for the purpose of conforming us to the image of his son.

31:07But when we're suffering, it's hard to believe that. That is why Romans 8 is in our Bibles, to remind us that in suffering we are sustained by the Father's purpose. Christian, you are going to be glorified with Christ. And you can know you're going to be glorified with Christ because you are justified. By faith. And you can know that because you were called. And since you were called, you can know that you were loved and predestined before the foundation of the world. Your salvation, your standing before God is eternally secure. God allows suffering in your life to sanctify you and make you more like His Son Jesus. None of your suffering, none of your heartache, none of your tears, none of the groaning that you experience in your broken body in this broken world is meaningless. God is working all of it for good in your life, to conform you to the image of your Son.

32:15And when you are suffering and you don't know what to pray, you don't have the words to pray, you are out of words to pray, it's okay. You have a helper who is interceding for you at all times according to the perfect will of God in your life. And God's will for you is sanctification. So in suffering, we are sustained by the Spirit's prayer and the Father's purpose. Take comfort in that, brothers and sisters. There are some in the room today whom God is calling. Men, women, children in the room today, God is calling you according to His purpose to rescue you. From your sin and its consequences to conform you to the image of Jesus Christ.

33:07But you might say, What if God won't receive me? What if I'm not predestined? What if I'm not chosen? Well, friends, that is not how this works. You heard Jesus speak to you just a little while ago. He said, Anyone who comes to me, I will never cast out. Anyone who comes, I will never cast out. So, friend, come to Jesus. He is calling you to come to him this morning to receive forgiveness and eternal life.

33:53The only way you walk out of this room today without forgiveness, without reconciliation, without salvation and eternal life, is to refuse to come to Jesus. This is what Jesus Himself told a crowd who was listening to Him. He said, You refuse to come to me that you may have life. Oh, friend, don't refuse Jesus. He will not refuse you. Come to Him this morning and receive eternal life. And when you do, you will be accepted. And when you are accepted, you will be conformed to the image. Of God's Son, which is the greatest thing that could ever happen to you. So, friend, trust in the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on your behalf and have the confidence that you have eternal life this morning, not because you loved God, but because God first loved you.

34:49Let's pray. Father, I pray for the many people in this room who are suffering. There are some people whose suffering we know about because it's obvious or because they've shared about it. But I am aware that there are so many who suffer in silence, whose heartaches are known only to you. Oh, Father, I pray through the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of your word this morning, you would bring comfort and healing. And hope to all who suffer.

36:07I pray that they would know that whatever is going on in their life, in their circumstances or inside of them, or both, that everything that is going on in their life is for a purpose. And that purpose is conforming them into the image of your Son. God, help us to believe that that is the best thing for us. Not our comfort, not our convenience or our leisure, but our sanctification. God, I pray for all of us who are not in a season of suffering. Oh, God, may we believe these truths. May we learn these truths well so that when suffering comes, we're ready for it.

37:00And we can respond in a way that honors you. Father, I pray for those whom you are calling this morning, men, women, and children in this room and truly in churches all across the world today. I pray that they would hear your voice, that they would respond, that they would come knowing that they will be received. Would you save people today from their sin and its consequences? Would you save them from a life of meaninglessness and purposelessness to a life of eternal meaning and purpose?

37:41Would you set them free to love you and to love others as you've commanded us? God, we thank you for your powerful word, your powerful spirit, your powerful Son, who came and lived and died and rose again for us. You are an awesome God. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.