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If God Is For You, Who Can Be Against You?
Drawing from Paul's powerful rhetorical questions in Romans 8, Bishop Clay Johnson delivered a stirring message on the eternal security every believer possesses in Christ. When God is truly for you, nothing in time can cancel your appointment with eternity, not opposition, not sabotage, not the schemes of enemies. The central truth: God is so committed to your victory that He will allow the very things working against you to ultimately work for you. Noah needed a flood. Esther needed captivity. Ruth needed a famine. What looks like an obstacle is often God's vehicle for your promotion. Bishop Johnson made this personal and unforgettable. Having survived burns covering 80% of his body, with doctors declaring he would never walk, think clearly, or be understood when he spoke, he stood before the congregation as living proof. Every medical impossibility became a testimony. The bottom line: When God is for you, your enemies become your footstool, your setbacks become your setup, and you have every reason to make some noise.
Related Sermons
Small Group Guide
Small Group Discussion Guide
"If God Be For Us" | Bishop Clay Johnson | WHCGA
1. SERMON RECAP
Bishop Clay Johnson preached from Romans 8:31, walking the congregation through Paul's powerful series of rhetorical questions — each one carrying an emphatic "no" as its answer — to establish that when God is truly for us, nothing in time or eternity can ultimately stand against us. He challenged the congregation to see that even the things working against them are, in God's hands, actually working for them. Using both Scripture and his own remarkable personal testimony of surviving severe burns, Bishop Johnson called the church to open their mouths, make some noise, and trust in the eternal security that God has secured for every believer.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
Romans 8:31 (NIV) "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
3. ICE BREAKER
Think of a time when something that seemed like a setback later turned out to work in your favor — maybe a cancelled plan, a missed opportunity, or an unexpected detour. Share a quick story with the group!
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Understanding the Text Bishop Clay walked through five rhetorical questions in Romans 8:31–39, each with an emphatic "no" as the answer. Which of those five questions hits closest to home for you personally right now, and why?
2. God Working Through Opposition Bishop Clay pointed to Noah, Esther, Ruth, Peter, and even Jesus to show how God allowed difficult or painful circumstances to become the very vehicle for His purposes. Which of those biblical examples resonated most with your own life experience? Is there a "flood" in your life right now that might actually be what God needs to move your "ark"?
3. The Danger of Too Many Opinions Bishop Clay described the woman with the issue of blood as someone "caught between too many opinions" — moving from doctor to doctor until she was broke and no better off. In what areas of life do we sometimes seek too many human opinions and end up more confused, instead of pressing closer to Jesus? How do we know when it's time to stop consulting and start pressing through?
4. The Call to Say Something Bishop Clay made a point that when Jesus asked "Who touched me?" He already knew — but He needed the woman to speak up so that God could receive glory. Why do you think it is sometimes hard to publicly acknowledge what God has done for us? What holds people back, and what does the group think shifts when we finally open our mouths and give God credit?
5. Personal Testimony as Proof Bishop Clay shared his extraordinary story of surviving 80% burns, multiple surgeries, and medical predictions that never came to pass — all as living evidence that if God be for you, who can be against you? How does someone else's testimony strengthen your faith? Does your own story carry more power than you currently give it credit for?
6. Eternal Security in the Everyday Bishop Clay said, "The God that secured you in eternity has secured you for eternity — and therefore nothing in time can stop you." How does holding an eternal perspective change the way we face daily struggles, difficult relationships, or disappointing circumstances this week?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, identify one situation in your life that feels like it is working against you — a relationship, a financial pressure, a health concern, or a workplace struggle. Write it down on a piece of paper. Then, beneath it, write out Romans 8:31 by hand. Spend five minutes each day this week praying specifically over that situation and declaring out loud: "God is for me in this." Come back next week ready to share any shift — even a small one — in how you are seeing that situation.
6. PRAYER POINTS
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Pray for eyes to see opposition differently — that group members would genuinely begin to believe, not just intellectually agree, that God can turn what is working against them into something working for them.
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Pray for boldness to open their mouths — that each person would find the courage to speak about what God has done, is doing, and will do in their lives, both privately in prayer and publicly in testimony.
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Pray for those carrying long-standing burdens — Bishop Clay noted that some people have been waiting a long time for breakthrough. Pray specifically for anyone in the group who has grown weary of pressing through, that they would receive renewed strength to keep pushing toward Jesus.
7. MEMORY VERSE
Romans 8:28 (NIV) "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Leader's Note: Give your group permission to be real this week. Bishop Clay modeled radical transparency — from his personal testimony to his humor about everyday life. The safest small groups are the ones where people don't have to pretend everything is fine. Create that space, and watch God move.
Daily Devotional
Nobody Can Stand Against What God Is For
Romans 8:31 — "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
I want you to sit with this question today — really sit with it. If God is genuinely, completely, sold-out FOR you, then who or what could possibly win against you? I've learned that the more you love God, the more people around you wonder how you keep standing. You come in smiling when they expected you broken. You keep moving forward when they planned your defeat. Here's what I need you to understand this morning: anything that rises against you isn't just fighting you — it's fighting something infinitely bigger than you. Your enemies, your obstacles, your setbacks — they've picked a battle they cannot win. God didn't just casually agree to be on your side. He sent His Son as your substitution, your justification, and your intercession. That's not casual support — that's eternal commitment. You are backed by the God of the universe. Walk like it today.
Father, remind me today that You are completely for me — not halfway, not sometimes, but always. Help me walk through this day with the confidence that nothing standing against me can overpower what You have already declared over my life. In Jesus' name, amen.
What Was Against You Is Working FOR You
Romans 8:28 — "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
I love how God operates. He doesn't just protect you FROM things — He takes the very things meant to destroy you and puts them to work FOR you. Think about Noah: the flood wasn't Noah's enemy; it was his transportation. Think about Esther: her captivity became her coronation. Think about Ruth: the famine that displaced her led her to the field where her destiny was waiting. I've watched this happen in my own life. Doctors told me I wouldn't walk, wouldn't talk clearly, wouldn't think straight. Every single one of those reports became a testimony platform. The meeting you're dreading this week? God may be setting it up to turn in your favor. The situation that feels like it's crushing you? It might be the very thing carrying you forward. Stop running from your flood — it might be your ark's moment to move.
God, I confess that sometimes I only see the trouble and miss the transformation happening inside it. Open my eyes today to see how You are turning my setbacks into setups for something greater. I trust Your process even when I don't understand it. Amen.
Press Through the Crowd to Touch Him
Mark 5:27–28 — "When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, 'If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.'"
This woman had been bleeding for twelve years. She'd spent everything she had on opinions — doctor after doctor, treatment after treatment — and she only got worse. What changed everything wasn't another opinion. It was a decision. She heard that Jesus was nearby and she pressed. She pushed through a crowd that had no idea what she was carrying. And here's what I need you to catch — the closer she got to Jesus, the lower she had to bend. By the time she reached Him, she was on her knees. Some of you have been waiting for a miracle in a public setting, but you haven't been willing to bend low in a private one. Your breakthrough is connected to your posture. Stop collecting opinions about your situation and start pressing toward the One who has the final word. The virtue is still flowing.
Jesus, I'm done running from doctor to doctor and opinion to opinion. Today I'm pressing through whatever crowd stands between me and Your presence. I believe that if I can just get close to You, everything changes. Amen.
You Have to Say Something
Psalm 107:2 — "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy."
Jesus already knew who touched Him. He's all-knowing — He didn't need her to identify herself. So why did He stop the whole crowd and ask, "Who touched Me?" Because He needed her to say something. He needed her to open her mouth and declare what had happened. You see, some things only get released when you speak them. Your healing, your breakthrough, your testimony — they carry power when they come out of your mouth. Paul and Silas understood this. Beaten, bound, bloody, locked in a dungeon — and they had the audacity to pray and sing at midnight. And when they opened their mouths, chains dropped and doors flew open. I'm talking to somebody today who has been quietly carrying a miracle God already did in your life. Stop keeping it to yourself. Open your mouth. Give God the glory He's been waiting to receive from you. He deserves it.
Father, forgive me for the times I've kept my testimony silent. You've done too much in my life for me to stay quiet. I open my mouth today to declare that You are good, You are faithful, and You have redeemed me. Amen.
You Have a Reason to Make Some Noise
Psalm 150:6 — "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"
I want to get personal with you right now. I have pig skin for a forehead. I have no web space between my fingers. Doctors told me I would never walk, never speak clearly, never think straight. I'm standing here — walking, talking, thinking, preaching — because God said otherwise. And if I have a reason to praise Him, so do you. You have ten fingers. You have eyes that read these words. You woke up this morning with breath in your lungs that nobody gave you but God. You didn't earn it, you didn't buy it, you didn't deserve it any more than the person who didn't wake up today — and yet here you are. Don't let Friday end this week without you making some noise. Not just a polite, dignified acknowledgment of God's goodness — real, genuine, from-the-gut gratitude for the fact that He kept you through another week. You are still here. That alone is worth everything.
God, I don't want to take one more breath for granted. You have kept me, carried me, and covered me this entire week. I praise You not because of what else You might do, but because of everything You've already done. You are worthy. Amen.