1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,528 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,624 --> 00:00:06,552 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,656 --> 00:00:09,672 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,696 --> 00:00:10,728 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,904 --> 00:00:14,616 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,648 --> 00:00:16,300 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,072 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,096 --> 00:00:21,700 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,780 We're going to go ahead and get started this morning. 10 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:31,104 If you're here today with us for the first time, we just started 11 00:00:31,192 --> 00:00:35,264 a new series called Theology Matters, and we're going to be breaking 12 00:00:35,312 --> 00:00:39,120 down the book of Romans, and we are in chapter one. 13 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:42,032 If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn there here today, 14 00:00:42,216 --> 00:00:43,040 chapter one. 15 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,312 And we're going to start in verse number eight, chapter one, 16 00:00:47,416 --> 00:00:48,128 verse eight. 17 00:00:48,184 --> 00:00:50,704 And on the back of your bulletins this morning, there is 18 00:00:50,712 --> 00:00:52,864 an outline and you can follow along with that outline. 19 00:00:52,912 --> 00:00:57,380 Hopefully that helps you track what we're talking about here this 20 00:00:57,420 --> 00:00:58,000 morning. 21 00:00:59,020 --> 00:01:03,380 Last week, we looked at just the idea of the importance of theology. 22 00:01:03,460 --> 00:01:05,124 Why does it matter what we believe? 23 00:01:05,212 --> 00:01:08,436 Because what we believe impacts what we do. 24 00:01:08,588 --> 00:01:10,676 And what we do matters for eternity. 25 00:01:10,788 --> 00:01:15,284 Now, we trust in the Lord in faith, and it's not of works of righteousness 26 00:01:15,332 --> 00:01:18,324 that we are saved, but the Bible says that after we are saved, 27 00:01:18,372 --> 00:01:19,622 we are called to serve. 28 00:01:19,756 --> 00:01:23,170 After we are saved, we are called to honor him and obey Him. 29 00:01:23,210 --> 00:01:26,290 And so it's so important to understand what we believe and why 30 00:01:26,330 --> 00:01:26,738 we believe. 31 00:01:26,794 --> 00:01:30,098 What we believe today is Children's Sunday and Family Sunday. 32 00:01:30,154 --> 00:01:30,946 And we've got our. 33 00:01:31,018 --> 00:01:32,738 Our young people in our church here today. 34 00:01:32,794 --> 00:01:36,386 And the reason why we do that is because we don't want to separate 35 00:01:36,418 --> 00:01:39,282 our children away from what we're teaching within the church. 36 00:01:39,346 --> 00:01:41,634 Now they get their children's church, and that's wonderful. 37 00:01:41,682 --> 00:01:44,738 And they get taught by some wonderful teachers there. 38 00:01:44,874 --> 00:01:47,916 And but we do believe that it's important for the young people 39 00:01:47,988 --> 00:01:50,268 to see adults worshiping the Lord. 40 00:01:50,364 --> 00:01:54,940 And, and so we as believers need to know the why behind what 41 00:01:54,980 --> 00:01:55,692 we are doing. 42 00:01:55,796 --> 00:01:58,332 We need to know the why behind what we believe. 43 00:01:58,516 --> 00:02:01,148 You know, I've got my children and one of their favorite questions 44 00:02:01,164 --> 00:02:03,160 that they ask, why? 45 00:02:03,620 --> 00:02:05,580 Right, guys, you can't do that. 46 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:07,420 Why we're not going here. 47 00:02:07,460 --> 00:02:08,764 Why you can't have ice cream. 48 00:02:08,812 --> 00:02:09,020 Why. 49 00:02:09,060 --> 00:02:09,404 Right. 50 00:02:09,492 --> 00:02:10,908 Why is an important question. 51 00:02:10,964 --> 00:02:13,682 And sometimes we push those questions away. 52 00:02:13,866 --> 00:02:17,106 But sometimes it's important for us to explain to our young people 53 00:02:17,178 --> 00:02:19,314 why we are doing what we are doing. 54 00:02:19,402 --> 00:02:20,850 The same goes for the church. 55 00:02:20,930 --> 00:02:23,026 Why do we believe what we believe? 56 00:02:23,098 --> 00:02:24,946 Why do we do what we do within the church. 57 00:02:24,978 --> 00:02:26,898 And that's what we're going to be talking about in this series. 58 00:02:26,954 --> 00:02:28,866 Why do we believe what we believe? 59 00:02:28,938 --> 00:02:31,890 Well, it's because the Bible tells us what to believe. 60 00:02:32,010 --> 00:02:35,426 We can't get our beliefs outside of Scripture, specifically 61 00:02:35,458 --> 00:02:38,274 about the things of God, because we are all, as the Bible 62 00:02:38,322 --> 00:02:40,070 says, believers. 63 00:02:40,230 --> 00:02:42,134 All of us are theologians. 64 00:02:42,262 --> 00:02:43,926 What we believe about God matters. 65 00:02:43,958 --> 00:02:46,406 And so some of us might be theologians in the wrong way. 66 00:02:46,478 --> 00:02:49,462 We might have the wrong belief system because we are getting our 67 00:02:49,486 --> 00:02:54,310 ideas outside of the Bible and maybe pop culture or maybe someone 68 00:02:54,350 --> 00:02:55,382 else in our life. 69 00:02:55,486 --> 00:02:58,422 They're giving us information that we are actually taking as the 70 00:02:58,446 --> 00:02:59,238 truth of God. 71 00:02:59,334 --> 00:03:02,374 But the Bible very clearly says that faith cometh by hearing 72 00:03:02,422 --> 00:03:04,974 and hearing by the word of God. 73 00:03:05,142 --> 00:03:07,214 And so what we're going to do is we're going to walk through the 74 00:03:07,222 --> 00:03:10,446 book of Romans and we're going to talk about why theology matters. 75 00:03:10,478 --> 00:03:14,126 And the title of the sermon this morning is are you ready? 76 00:03:14,238 --> 00:03:16,862 It's a question, Are you ready now? 77 00:03:16,886 --> 00:03:19,134 We're going to see what that means here in a few moments. 78 00:03:19,262 --> 00:03:22,910 But the truth is, is that God is calling us for a specific work 79 00:03:22,950 --> 00:03:24,046 in this world today. 80 00:03:24,198 --> 00:03:26,574 He is calling us for the work of the gospel. 81 00:03:26,702 --> 00:03:29,422 And the question that I would pose to you this morning is this. 82 00:03:29,526 --> 00:03:32,314 Are you ready for that ministry? 83 00:03:32,362 --> 00:03:34,346 Are you ready to proclaim the word? 84 00:03:34,458 --> 00:03:37,866 Are you ready to live the gospel out to those around you? 85 00:03:38,018 --> 00:03:40,042 And so Paul's going to answer that question here. 86 00:03:40,066 --> 00:03:43,306 He's going to say in chapter one, I am ready. 87 00:03:43,498 --> 00:03:47,242 And I hope that all of us this morning, as we go out today, we can 88 00:03:47,266 --> 00:03:51,578 answer that same question with, yes, I am ready. 89 00:03:51,674 --> 00:03:55,658 And so in this passage, Paul speaks of his desire to share the 90 00:03:55,714 --> 00:03:57,630 truth of God with the Romans. 91 00:03:58,090 --> 00:04:00,994 This is still Paul's introduction here, starting in verse 92 00:04:01,042 --> 00:04:01,442 eight. 93 00:04:01,546 --> 00:04:05,970 And Paul is explaining to the Roman church why he's writing them 94 00:04:06,010 --> 00:04:06,802 this letter. 95 00:04:06,946 --> 00:04:10,162 And he says, I want to share the truth of God with you. 96 00:04:10,266 --> 00:04:10,626 I. 97 00:04:10,698 --> 00:04:13,442 I want to share the gospel with you. 98 00:04:13,546 --> 00:04:15,458 I want to minister to you. 99 00:04:15,514 --> 00:04:20,594 And he demonstrates the compassion and urgency that all believers 100 00:04:20,642 --> 00:04:23,914 should have in sharing the gospel and serving others. 101 00:04:24,042 --> 00:04:26,986 All of us are called to have compassion for the lost. 102 00:04:27,138 --> 00:04:29,930 All of us are called to have compassion for other Christians. 103 00:04:30,090 --> 00:04:33,274 All of us are called to have urgency in our service to him. 104 00:04:33,362 --> 00:04:36,634 And so Paul is demonstrating here the type of compassion that 105 00:04:36,642 --> 00:04:39,562 we all should have in ministering the gospel to people 106 00:04:39,586 --> 00:04:40,506 around us. 107 00:04:40,658 --> 00:04:43,626 Paul is demonstrating for us the urgency that we are supposed 108 00:04:43,658 --> 00:04:43,930 to have. 109 00:04:43,970 --> 00:04:46,554 The Bible says that we should be redeeming the time because the 110 00:04:46,562 --> 00:04:47,418 days are evil. 111 00:04:47,514 --> 00:04:50,026 The Bible says that we should be fervent in the Spirit, serving 112 00:04:50,058 --> 00:04:50,426 the Lord. 113 00:04:50,458 --> 00:04:51,022 That means this. 114 00:04:51,106 --> 00:04:53,222 We need to be busy about the work of God. 115 00:04:53,366 --> 00:04:56,742 So easy to get ourselves in a place of apathy in our life, in. 116 00:04:56,766 --> 00:04:59,670 In a place of distraction in our life that we don't do the things 117 00:04:59,710 --> 00:05:00,790 that we need to do. 118 00:05:00,910 --> 00:05:03,462 And, and most likely when we're not doing the things that we 119 00:05:03,486 --> 00:05:05,782 need to do, we're doing the things that we don't need to do. 120 00:05:05,886 --> 00:05:06,246 Right? 121 00:05:06,318 --> 00:05:10,870 Our we, our whole mindset shifts away from what should be our 122 00:05:10,910 --> 00:05:14,150 priorities as Christians and goes to other priorities that really 123 00:05:14,190 --> 00:05:16,294 mean nothing in the grand scheme of eternity. 124 00:05:16,422 --> 00:05:19,312 And, and so Paul says, hey, this is the type of compassion I 125 00:05:19,336 --> 00:05:21,152 have in bringing the gospel to you. 126 00:05:21,256 --> 00:05:24,256 This is the type of urgency that I have in bringing the gospel 127 00:05:24,288 --> 00:05:24,928 to you. 128 00:05:25,064 --> 00:05:29,220 And so we see here that he is ready to travel to a place of opposition. 129 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:34,016 Rome is the capital of the world at this point in time, 2,000 130 00:05:34,088 --> 00:05:34,940 years ago. 131 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,912 And Rome was a place at this point in time that was in opposition 132 00:05:38,976 --> 00:05:40,160 to the gospel. 133 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,084 There was persecution of Christians there. 134 00:05:43,172 --> 00:05:46,364 There was a lot of pagan rituals that were going on in Rome 135 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:49,212 at that point, a lot of false gods that were being lifted up. 136 00:05:49,236 --> 00:05:52,732 And so for Paul to say that I want to go to Rome to preach the 137 00:05:52,756 --> 00:05:53,836 gospel would mean this. 138 00:05:53,908 --> 00:05:56,524 He was wanting to go into the belly of the beast to preach the 139 00:05:56,532 --> 00:05:57,612 message of the gospel. 140 00:05:57,756 --> 00:06:00,092 He wasn't just going to a place that was going to be easy for 141 00:06:00,116 --> 00:06:00,252 him. 142 00:06:00,276 --> 00:06:02,332 He wasn't going to a resort and saying, you know what? 143 00:06:02,356 --> 00:06:05,308 I'm going to sit on the beach and enjoy myself, and then maybe 144 00:06:05,324 --> 00:06:06,764 if I have time, give the gospel. 145 00:06:06,812 --> 00:06:09,484 No, he says, I'm willing to go in the place of opposition. 146 00:06:09,532 --> 00:06:13,004 I'm ready to go to the capital of evil to preach the gospel. 147 00:06:13,132 --> 00:06:17,116 And so he was ready to travel to a place of opposition and difficulty 148 00:06:17,228 --> 00:06:18,332 for the Lord. 149 00:06:18,476 --> 00:06:21,644 And so when we look at it in context to our call in our lives, 150 00:06:21,732 --> 00:06:25,196 the Bible very clearly tells us that we are all called to proclaim 151 00:06:25,228 --> 00:06:26,844 the gospel to everyone around us. 152 00:06:26,932 --> 00:06:29,932 That's what's called the Great Commission in Matthew, chapter 28. 153 00:06:29,956 --> 00:06:35,004 It tells us to make disciples, go, teach, preach, proclaim the gospel 154 00:06:35,052 --> 00:06:35,676 message. 155 00:06:35,788 --> 00:06:38,684 But a lot of times we're willing to do that if it's comfortable 156 00:06:38,732 --> 00:06:39,816 for us, if it's. 157 00:06:39,948 --> 00:06:42,960 If it's feasible for us, if it makes sense for us. 158 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,664 But the Bible says very clearly that we are to be like Paul, 159 00:06:45,712 --> 00:06:47,648 be ready to go into a difficult place. 160 00:06:47,784 --> 00:06:50,192 And so we're going to talk about that all here this morning 161 00:06:50,296 --> 00:06:52,768 as we look at Romans chapter one, starting verse eight, we're 162 00:06:52,784 --> 00:06:54,928 going to go down to verse number 15. 163 00:06:54,984 --> 00:06:57,232 Let's go ahead and pray and then we'll jump right into our main 164 00:06:57,256 --> 00:06:58,320 text here this morning. 165 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,112 Lord, I thank you for this time that you've given us. 166 00:07:00,136 --> 00:07:02,832 I thank you for the opportunity to come here today to 167 00:07:02,856 --> 00:07:04,736 learn about you through your word. 168 00:07:04,848 --> 00:07:07,834 Lord, I pray that we can grow in our in our understanding of you, 169 00:07:07,952 --> 00:07:10,662 that we can grow in our love for you, that we can grow in our 170 00:07:10,686 --> 00:07:13,110 passion for serving you and to serve others. 171 00:07:13,230 --> 00:07:17,222 Lord, I pray that we can understand your story, your message, 172 00:07:17,286 --> 00:07:20,390 your gospel, so that we can go and proclaim that to those around 173 00:07:20,430 --> 00:07:20,630 us. 174 00:07:20,670 --> 00:07:23,046 Lord, if we haven't today, if there's someone here today that hasn't 175 00:07:23,078 --> 00:07:25,942 trusted in the Gospel, that hasn't understood what it means to 176 00:07:25,966 --> 00:07:29,286 know you and to love you and to experience your forgiveness, Lord, 177 00:07:29,318 --> 00:07:30,934 may today be the day of salvation. 178 00:07:30,982 --> 00:07:34,144 May today be the day of everlasting life where I pray that 179 00:07:34,152 --> 00:07:36,992 you remove any distractions from our minds and from our hearts. 180 00:07:37,056 --> 00:07:39,712 Lord, allow us to see you clearly here this morning. 181 00:07:39,896 --> 00:07:41,328 In Jesus name we pray. 182 00:07:41,424 --> 00:07:42,064 Amen. 183 00:07:42,192 --> 00:07:45,664 I want you to see point number one here, the testimony of the church 184 00:07:45,712 --> 00:07:46,304 there in Rome. 185 00:07:46,352 --> 00:07:49,792 As Paul is writing this letter to the church there in Rome, they 186 00:07:49,816 --> 00:07:50,784 already had a testimony. 187 00:07:50,832 --> 00:07:52,528 They're already an established church. 188 00:07:52,624 --> 00:07:54,112 In verse 8 he says this. 189 00:07:54,216 --> 00:07:58,976 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your 190 00:07:59,048 --> 00:08:02,860 faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 191 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,256 So they have a testimony. 192 00:08:05,448 --> 00:08:08,520 The Roman Church has a testimony that Paul is aware of and 193 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,904 that we see here, the whole world is aware of. 194 00:08:10,992 --> 00:08:14,712 I want you to see after this that the source of their testimony 195 00:08:14,776 --> 00:08:19,752 is not their good works, it's not their good standing with Paul. 196 00:08:19,816 --> 00:08:22,600 It says there very clearly that the reason why they had this 197 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,008 testimony is their faith in Jesus Christ. 198 00:08:26,144 --> 00:08:28,840 The source of their testimony is their faith in Jesus Christ. 199 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,360 And so if we want to be a testimony to the world around us, 200 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,296 if we want to impact our society for Christ, if we want people 201 00:08:36,368 --> 00:08:39,672 to come to Christ in our community, in our world, we need 202 00:08:39,696 --> 00:08:43,320 to base everything that we do in our faith in Jesus Christ, not 203 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:43,944 ourselves. 204 00:08:44,072 --> 00:08:46,632 The Bible very clearly says the reason why they were able to 205 00:08:46,656 --> 00:08:49,352 have this testimony, the reason why they were able to have 206 00:08:49,376 --> 00:08:52,280 this impact, the reason why Paul knew about what they were doing 207 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,380 for the Gospel was because of their faith in Jesus. 208 00:08:55,410 --> 00:08:55,920 Jesus Christ. 209 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,328 Verse 8 says it was their faith that was spoken of throughout 210 00:08:59,344 --> 00:09:00,272 the whole world. 211 00:09:00,456 --> 00:09:03,072 If we want people in Middletown to be talking about our 212 00:09:03,096 --> 00:09:03,488 church. 213 00:09:03,584 --> 00:09:05,328 What do we want them to be talking about? 214 00:09:05,464 --> 00:09:08,176 Well, that's the church that's against all of those things. 215 00:09:08,248 --> 00:09:11,472 No, we don't want people to know us for what we're against as 216 00:09:11,496 --> 00:09:13,120 much as what we are for. 217 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,392 We are for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 218 00:09:15,496 --> 00:09:18,176 We want people in the community to know our faith. 219 00:09:18,368 --> 00:09:18,720 Not. 220 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,440 Not so much that, hey, that's the church over there that has this 221 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,138 property, or that's the church over there that does this ministry. 222 00:09:24,264 --> 00:09:28,518 We want people to know us by our profession of Jesus Christ. 223 00:09:28,654 --> 00:09:30,022 We want people to see Jesus. 224 00:09:30,086 --> 00:09:32,534 The Bible says, be salt and light in the world. 225 00:09:32,702 --> 00:09:34,310 Let your light so shine before men. 226 00:09:34,350 --> 00:09:35,942 Matthew, chapter 5, verse 16. 227 00:09:36,046 --> 00:09:39,430 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works 228 00:09:39,510 --> 00:09:42,054 and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. 229 00:09:42,182 --> 00:09:45,062 The Bible says that we are to live publicly for Christ so that 230 00:09:45,086 --> 00:09:48,518 people can see what we are doing and then see Christ. 231 00:09:48,654 --> 00:09:50,630 It's not about seeing us, it's about seeing him. 232 00:09:50,670 --> 00:09:54,126 So the source of their testimony is their faith in Jesus 233 00:09:54,158 --> 00:09:54,350 Christ. 234 00:09:54,390 --> 00:09:57,918 The source of our testimony should be our faith in Jesus Christ. 235 00:09:58,054 --> 00:10:00,690 But we also see the scope of their testimony. 236 00:10:02,230 --> 00:10:04,926 What distance was that testimony traveling? 237 00:10:04,958 --> 00:10:08,686 Well, it says in verse eight that your faith is spoken of throughout 238 00:10:08,718 --> 00:10:10,718 the whole world, the whole known world. 239 00:10:10,854 --> 00:10:13,214 The scope of their testimony was widespread. 240 00:10:13,342 --> 00:10:16,654 It wasn't limited to just a few people around them that saw what 241 00:10:16,662 --> 00:10:17,198 they were doing. 242 00:10:17,254 --> 00:10:20,026 No, the message of the gospel was spreading. 243 00:10:20,138 --> 00:10:23,546 They were publicly declaring in a difficult place the message 244 00:10:23,578 --> 00:10:24,790 of Jesus Christ. 245 00:10:25,090 --> 00:10:28,346 Do we want our testimony to be localized here in the Middletown 246 00:10:28,378 --> 00:10:28,858 community? 247 00:10:28,994 --> 00:10:32,410 Well, yes, but we also know that the Bible says part of the great 248 00:10:32,450 --> 00:10:34,458 commission is going into all the world. 249 00:10:34,594 --> 00:10:37,642 And so we see in Acts, chapter one, verse eight that we are to go 250 00:10:37,666 --> 00:10:41,050 to our Jerusalem, our local area, but then we're to go to Judea. 251 00:10:41,130 --> 00:10:41,562 That's a. 252 00:10:41,586 --> 00:10:43,644 That's the wider spread community around us. 253 00:10:43,722 --> 00:10:47,064 And then to Samaria, more difficult places, and ultimately 254 00:10:47,112 --> 00:10:48,216 to the uttermost part of the earth. 255 00:10:48,248 --> 00:10:51,416 The Bible says that we should spread the gospel as far as we possibly 256 00:10:51,448 --> 00:10:51,832 can. 257 00:10:51,936 --> 00:10:54,920 The way that we do that is through having the source of our 258 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,344 testimony in Jesus Christ. 259 00:10:56,432 --> 00:10:59,336 We preach Jesus, we preach his word. 260 00:10:59,368 --> 00:11:02,900 We don't preach a system, we don't preach a product. 261 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:04,696 We're not selling a product, folks. 262 00:11:04,728 --> 00:11:06,472 We're proclaiming Jesus Christ. 263 00:11:06,576 --> 00:11:09,118 We're proclaiming transformation and salvation. 264 00:11:09,264 --> 00:11:12,498 And so we as Christians should be like this church there in Rome. 265 00:11:12,594 --> 00:11:12,898 Their. 266 00:11:12,954 --> 00:11:16,706 Their testimony was for Jesus Christ and it was spreading across 267 00:11:16,778 --> 00:11:17,950 the whole world. 268 00:11:18,250 --> 00:11:19,922 And so we see their testimony here. 269 00:11:19,946 --> 00:11:22,866 And I hope that we as Christians can have that same testimony. 270 00:11:22,978 --> 00:11:26,194 All of us have a testimony to some degree. 271 00:11:26,242 --> 00:11:27,538 All of us have a testimony. 272 00:11:27,634 --> 00:11:29,430 We could call it our reputation. 273 00:11:30,410 --> 00:11:33,870 If someone mentions our name, what do people think about? 274 00:11:34,250 --> 00:11:36,610 Well, they think about maybe our hobby, or they think about our 275 00:11:36,650 --> 00:11:39,890 job, or they think about maybe an attribute about us. 276 00:11:40,510 --> 00:11:44,662 Hey, we should all strive as believers to have a testimony or 277 00:11:44,686 --> 00:11:48,774 a reputation of Jesus Christ that people can see Jesus in us. 278 00:11:48,942 --> 00:11:51,254 I'm going to tell you that for some of us, there are going to be 279 00:11:51,262 --> 00:11:53,670 individuals that we come across in our life that the only 280 00:11:53,710 --> 00:11:57,222 Jesus that they will see is our testimony of him if they know 281 00:11:57,246 --> 00:11:57,974 that we are believers. 282 00:11:58,022 --> 00:12:00,246 And first and foremost, they need to know that we're believers. 283 00:12:00,358 --> 00:12:03,430 But secondly, if they know that we're believers, how are we 284 00:12:03,470 --> 00:12:05,312 demonstrating the love of Christ to them? 285 00:12:05,446 --> 00:12:07,964 How are we demonstrating the forgiveness of Christ to them? 286 00:12:08,052 --> 00:12:10,380 How are we demonstrating the truth of Christ to them? 287 00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:13,964 And so that's a thought that we have here in this passage of Scripture. 288 00:12:14,012 --> 00:12:16,268 So the theology of Christ matters. 289 00:12:16,364 --> 00:12:17,996 What we believe about Jesus matters. 290 00:12:18,028 --> 00:12:19,612 What we believe about His Word matters. 291 00:12:19,676 --> 00:12:23,868 And if we believe that the Bible is the word of God, if we believe 292 00:12:23,924 --> 00:12:27,932 that this is the truth, then we will proclaim this in the way 293 00:12:27,956 --> 00:12:28,604 that we serve. 294 00:12:28,652 --> 00:12:30,578 We will proclaim this in the way that we live. 295 00:12:30,684 --> 00:12:35,254 And so our testimony will be based in God through His Word, publicly 296 00:12:35,302 --> 00:12:37,814 displaying all of these attributes that God has called us 297 00:12:37,822 --> 00:12:38,534 to have. 298 00:12:38,702 --> 00:12:41,570 But you can't have a testimony without a relationship with Him. 299 00:12:42,110 --> 00:12:45,330 You can't proclaim Jesus Christ unless you know Jesus Christ. 300 00:12:45,710 --> 00:12:47,494 I, I've used this analogy before. 301 00:12:47,582 --> 00:12:51,222 If I got up here today and I said, okay, look, let's, let's go 302 00:12:51,246 --> 00:12:54,598 into a alternate universe where none of you have ever had chocolate, 303 00:12:54,774 --> 00:12:55,494 okay? 304 00:12:55,622 --> 00:12:58,278 And I get up here and I'm trying to explain to you what chocolate's 305 00:12:58,294 --> 00:12:58,850 like. 306 00:12:59,330 --> 00:13:02,362 Some of you might say, well, I, I know what something that sweet 307 00:13:02,426 --> 00:13:03,114 tastes like. 308 00:13:03,202 --> 00:13:06,138 I know what something like this might be like, but I can't experience 309 00:13:06,194 --> 00:13:07,034 it for myself. 310 00:13:07,162 --> 00:13:11,306 I cannot talk about Jesus properly unless I know him in a personal 311 00:13:11,378 --> 00:13:14,266 way, unless I have trusted in him as my personal savior. 312 00:13:14,378 --> 00:13:16,602 I, I, I can play the part, right? 313 00:13:16,626 --> 00:13:19,354 We can get an actor up here and an actor can come and read lines. 314 00:13:19,402 --> 00:13:21,994 But the truth of the matter is, is that does not change the heart. 315 00:13:22,082 --> 00:13:25,258 What changes the heart is faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ 316 00:13:25,314 --> 00:13:25,750 alone. 317 00:13:25,850 --> 00:13:27,182 And so we have the testimony here. 318 00:13:27,206 --> 00:13:30,050 But then I want you to see number two, Paul's thankfulness, 319 00:13:30,550 --> 00:13:31,102 verse eight. 320 00:13:31,126 --> 00:13:35,374 He says, first I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all. 321 00:13:35,462 --> 00:13:39,166 Paul is thankful to hear about their testimony for the Lord. 322 00:13:39,358 --> 00:13:41,982 We should be thankful to hear about the testimony of the Lord being 323 00:13:42,006 --> 00:13:42,366 proclaimed. 324 00:13:42,398 --> 00:13:43,374 It shouldn't be like this. 325 00:13:43,462 --> 00:13:45,678 Well, I can't believe that that church over there is proclaiming 326 00:13:45,694 --> 00:13:47,214 Jesus Christ and they're having growth. 327 00:13:47,302 --> 00:13:48,686 You know what that should be for us? 328 00:13:48,758 --> 00:13:50,926 That's a selfish, prideful way to think. 329 00:13:51,078 --> 00:13:52,222 We should think about it this way. 330 00:13:52,246 --> 00:13:54,862 If that person is proclaiming Jesus and people are coming to Christ, 331 00:13:54,966 --> 00:13:55,966 that is fantastic. 332 00:13:55,998 --> 00:13:58,020 They are partners in ministry. 333 00:13:58,100 --> 00:13:58,980 I'm going to tell you here. 334 00:13:59,020 --> 00:14:03,364 Yesterday we had a church come in, a like minded, Bible believing 335 00:14:03,412 --> 00:14:03,588 church. 336 00:14:03,604 --> 00:14:06,068 And they came in and did baptisms because they, they didn't 337 00:14:06,084 --> 00:14:07,556 have a place to do baptisms. 338 00:14:07,668 --> 00:14:09,716 They said, hey, can we come in and do some baptisms? 339 00:14:09,748 --> 00:14:11,364 I said, fantastic, let's do that. 340 00:14:11,452 --> 00:14:11,940 Why? 341 00:14:12,060 --> 00:14:14,980 Because we are partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 342 00:14:15,100 --> 00:14:16,820 We want to promote that. 343 00:14:16,940 --> 00:14:19,332 Because if we say that, hey, the only gospel message that can 344 00:14:19,356 --> 00:14:21,412 be preached is Middletown Baptist. 345 00:14:21,556 --> 00:14:23,102 Our way, our style. 346 00:14:23,196 --> 00:14:24,522 There's a big danger in that. 347 00:14:24,546 --> 00:14:27,450 Now I'm not promoting false teachers. 348 00:14:27,530 --> 00:14:30,122 I'm not promoting us to link in together with people that are 349 00:14:30,146 --> 00:14:32,474 not preaching the Bible, not preaching Jesus Christ. 350 00:14:32,562 --> 00:14:35,162 But what we need to understand like Paul was he was thankful to 351 00:14:35,186 --> 00:14:38,298 hear that their testimony for the Lord was being proclaimed across 352 00:14:38,354 --> 00:14:39,114 all of the world. 353 00:14:39,202 --> 00:14:41,690 It shouldn't be a competition, it should be this. 354 00:14:41,730 --> 00:14:45,162 That we as believers are doing everything that we possibly can to 355 00:14:45,186 --> 00:14:48,266 proclaim the gospel, but also pray for others who are proclaiming 356 00:14:48,298 --> 00:14:49,842 the gospel in other places. 357 00:14:50,026 --> 00:14:52,258 And so his thankfulness led to something. 358 00:14:52,314 --> 00:14:53,010 Let's see it here. 359 00:14:53,050 --> 00:14:53,682 Verse number nine. 360 00:14:53,706 --> 00:14:55,666 He says, for God is my witness. 361 00:14:55,778 --> 00:14:58,802 He says, I'm so thankful that God is working in you all. 362 00:14:58,906 --> 00:15:00,978 I'm so thankful that you have faith in Jesus Christ. 363 00:15:01,034 --> 00:15:03,746 I'm so, so thankful that other people are hearing about you. 364 00:15:03,818 --> 00:15:04,754 Verse 9. 365 00:15:04,922 --> 00:15:09,026 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my Spirit in the gospel 366 00:15:09,058 --> 00:15:12,594 of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always 367 00:15:12,682 --> 00:15:13,826 in my prayers. 368 00:15:14,018 --> 00:15:17,362 And so Paul's thankfulness for the church at Rome led him to do 369 00:15:17,386 --> 00:15:17,768 something. 370 00:15:17,874 --> 00:15:21,068 It led him to something called supplication or prayer. 371 00:15:21,244 --> 00:15:22,972 He prayed for the saints. 372 00:15:23,116 --> 00:15:27,212 Folks, if you are thankful for someone within your life, pray for 373 00:15:27,236 --> 00:15:27,468 them. 374 00:15:27,524 --> 00:15:28,780 That's what Paul says here. 375 00:15:28,900 --> 00:15:32,892 He says to do it in a way that is totally selfless. 376 00:15:33,036 --> 00:15:36,252 A lot of times our prayers are selfish and sometimes there's a time 377 00:15:36,276 --> 00:15:37,660 and a place for selfish prayers. 378 00:15:37,740 --> 00:15:41,212 There's a time and a place to ask God to help us in specific areas. 379 00:15:41,316 --> 00:15:43,968 But also the Bible says that if we are thankful for other people 380 00:15:44,084 --> 00:15:47,256 in the truth of Jesus Christ, that we should pray for other saints, 381 00:15:47,288 --> 00:15:49,032 that we should pray for other believers around us. 382 00:15:49,056 --> 00:15:50,440 And that's what Paul is doing here. 383 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,696 Verse nine, he says, for God is my witness. 384 00:15:52,728 --> 00:15:52,936 He's. 385 00:15:52,968 --> 00:15:54,952 He's putting himself into a place of accountability. 386 00:15:55,096 --> 00:15:55,400 Why? 387 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,768 Because sometimes we say we pray for people and we don't. 388 00:15:57,864 --> 00:16:01,624 And he says, God is watching me here, whom I serve with my spirit 389 00:16:01,672 --> 00:16:05,160 in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing, I make mention of 390 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:06,536 you always in my prayers. 391 00:16:06,568 --> 00:16:10,072 And so Paul is so thankful for what God is doing in the life of 392 00:16:10,096 --> 00:16:11,914 the Roman Church that he is praying for them. 393 00:16:11,992 --> 00:16:13,606 And I encourage you to think about that in your life. 394 00:16:13,678 --> 00:16:15,894 How many of you are willing to pray for other people within the 395 00:16:15,902 --> 00:16:19,382 church, not just when they're going through a sickness, not just 396 00:16:19,406 --> 00:16:21,862 when they're going through a hard time, but pray for them on a 397 00:16:21,886 --> 00:16:22,406 regular basis. 398 00:16:22,438 --> 00:16:23,894 What does it say there in verse nine? 399 00:16:23,982 --> 00:16:27,222 Without ceasing, folks, if we're going to pray for anyone, we 400 00:16:27,246 --> 00:16:29,814 should be praying for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, 401 00:16:29,982 --> 00:16:32,294 specifically those that we come across on a weekly basis. 402 00:16:32,342 --> 00:16:34,566 Hopefully more than a weekly basis. 403 00:16:34,758 --> 00:16:35,350 You know what? 404 00:16:35,390 --> 00:16:37,532 How do you pray for someone specifically? 405 00:16:37,726 --> 00:16:39,088 It's very technical. 406 00:16:39,264 --> 00:16:41,888 You ask them, how can I pray for you now? 407 00:16:41,944 --> 00:16:44,080 They have to be honest and sharing what's on their heart. 408 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,320 But folks, I would encourage you to ask people. 409 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,680 Ask how you can pray for people and then follow up with that. 410 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:50,592 Pray with them. 411 00:16:50,696 --> 00:16:52,816 Go ask them questions about that prayer request. 412 00:16:52,848 --> 00:16:55,632 And then when those prayer requests are answered, hey, rejoice 413 00:16:55,696 --> 00:16:56,576 in that moment. 414 00:16:56,688 --> 00:16:59,392 Pray for folks, you know what the reality is, is that all of us 415 00:16:59,416 --> 00:17:00,752 here are struggling with things. 416 00:17:00,856 --> 00:17:03,312 Whether we want to admit it or not, we are struggling with things 417 00:17:03,336 --> 00:17:04,078 on our hearts. 418 00:17:04,184 --> 00:17:06,786 We're struggling in things in our personal lives, we're struggling 419 00:17:06,818 --> 00:17:08,786 with things in our professional lives, we're struggling 420 00:17:08,818 --> 00:17:10,066 with things in our physical lives. 421 00:17:10,138 --> 00:17:12,274 And so what happens is, is that a lot of times we think that 422 00:17:12,282 --> 00:17:13,266 we're alone in this. 423 00:17:13,338 --> 00:17:16,402 But Paul says, here is this, you're not alone church at Rome. 424 00:17:16,466 --> 00:17:18,578 I am praying for you without ceasing. 425 00:17:18,674 --> 00:17:20,978 And the Bible says that we should be lifting up our requests 426 00:17:20,994 --> 00:17:24,706 to the Lord in all, in all times, in all ways for the saints 427 00:17:24,738 --> 00:17:25,122 around us. 428 00:17:25,146 --> 00:17:28,210 And so his thankfulness led him to prayer, and his thankfulness 429 00:17:28,290 --> 00:17:29,602 led him to serve his Savior. 430 00:17:29,666 --> 00:17:33,336 You see that there in, in verse number nine, he says, for God 431 00:17:33,368 --> 00:17:36,920 is my witness, whom I serve with My Spirit in the gospel of his 432 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:37,608 Son. 433 00:17:37,784 --> 00:17:40,504 Paul is so thankful for what God is doing there in Rome. 434 00:17:40,552 --> 00:17:43,672 Paul is so thankful for what God is doing all over the world that 435 00:17:43,696 --> 00:17:45,912 he's willing to serve his Savior in every way. 436 00:17:45,936 --> 00:17:48,440 And he says, the way that I want to serve the Savior is by coming 437 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:49,384 and visiting you. 438 00:17:49,472 --> 00:17:49,720 I. 439 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:50,728 I want to visit you. 440 00:17:50,784 --> 00:17:53,384 And, and so we see that his thankfulness led him to desire to 441 00:17:53,392 --> 00:17:54,552 sojourn with them. 442 00:17:54,656 --> 00:17:57,416 He wanted to visit them, he wanted to stay with them, he wanted 443 00:17:57,448 --> 00:17:59,752 to fellowship with them, he wanted to commune with them. 444 00:17:59,776 --> 00:18:04,412 And folks, that's really what we see here in verses 9, 10, 11 and 445 00:18:04,436 --> 00:18:08,124 12 is Paul's heart, his desire to go be with them. 446 00:18:08,292 --> 00:18:11,440 Folks, we should desire to be with other believers. 447 00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:14,988 There's this new concept in this world today, and maybe it's 448 00:18:15,004 --> 00:18:18,028 been around for a long time, but it's, it's coming more and more. 449 00:18:18,084 --> 00:18:21,260 Popular is that we can be Christians on our own, we can be 450 00:18:21,380 --> 00:18:25,244 lone wolves, we can be out on our own and worship God in a vacuum 451 00:18:25,292 --> 00:18:25,980 on an island. 452 00:18:26,060 --> 00:18:29,496 The Bible very clearly teaches the complete opposite of that. 453 00:18:29,648 --> 00:18:33,448 Christian fellowship is vital for the individual. 454 00:18:33,544 --> 00:18:34,984 Christian fellowship is important. 455 00:18:35,072 --> 00:18:35,560 Why? 456 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,336 Because God has ordained it and designed it for us to be together 457 00:18:39,408 --> 00:18:42,472 so that we can be strengthened, so that we can be encouraged, 458 00:18:42,616 --> 00:18:45,944 so that the power of God, the love of God, the forgiveness of God 459 00:18:45,992 --> 00:18:47,384 can be seen in our midst. 460 00:18:47,432 --> 00:18:51,432 And so, folks, I encourage you to put a premium on fellowship. 461 00:18:51,576 --> 00:18:55,186 You can see that there in Hebrews chapter, Hebrews chapter 462 00:18:55,218 --> 00:18:55,410 10. 463 00:18:55,450 --> 00:18:57,790 I want you to see this cross reference here. 464 00:18:58,330 --> 00:19:00,898 This, this passage of scripture frequently gets talked 465 00:19:00,914 --> 00:19:03,670 about when it comes to the idea of church attendance. 466 00:19:04,250 --> 00:19:05,538 Be a church. 467 00:19:05,714 --> 00:19:06,482 And I like that. 468 00:19:06,506 --> 00:19:07,010 I like that. 469 00:19:07,050 --> 00:19:07,634 Be a church. 470 00:19:07,682 --> 00:19:12,530 Okay, church attendance is good, but church attendance alone 471 00:19:12,610 --> 00:19:15,670 does not equate Christian fellowship. 472 00:19:16,250 --> 00:19:17,778 How many of you don't raise your hand? 473 00:19:17,834 --> 00:19:19,670 Okay, we got some of the kids in the building today. 474 00:19:19,770 --> 00:19:20,542 They might raise their hand. 475 00:19:20,566 --> 00:19:21,230 That's okay. 476 00:19:21,310 --> 00:19:25,370 But how many of you that have been here at church have come in 477 00:19:25,910 --> 00:19:28,670 and walked out, maybe smiled at a person? 478 00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:30,462 Now we force you to shake hands. 479 00:19:30,606 --> 00:19:31,326 Okay? 480 00:19:31,438 --> 00:19:32,798 And some of you like, I don't shake hands. 481 00:19:32,814 --> 00:19:35,310 I give an Air High 5 or a fist bump, that's okay. 482 00:19:35,470 --> 00:19:37,678 And so we try to force things to happen. 483 00:19:37,814 --> 00:19:39,726 But how many of you have come in and said, you know what? 484 00:19:39,798 --> 00:19:42,350 I really, even though I was there with a lot of other people, 485 00:19:42,390 --> 00:19:45,744 I still feel lonely, I still feel disconnected. 486 00:19:45,942 --> 00:19:51,164 The truth is, is that there is an opportunity for us to be so isolated 487 00:19:51,212 --> 00:19:53,692 in our lives that we miss out on Christian fellowship, even when 488 00:19:53,716 --> 00:19:54,780 we are attending church. 489 00:19:54,860 --> 00:20:00,524 And so Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 says this, and let us consider 490 00:20:00,612 --> 00:20:01,484 one another. 491 00:20:01,652 --> 00:20:04,956 This would be the idea of stirring one another up to provoke 492 00:20:04,988 --> 00:20:06,668 unto love and to good works. 493 00:20:06,764 --> 00:20:11,388 So we are called as Christians to stir each other up, not in a bad 494 00:20:11,444 --> 00:20:15,682 way for sin, but to stir each other up for what does it say? 495 00:20:15,706 --> 00:20:17,778 Their love and good works. 496 00:20:17,874 --> 00:20:19,714 We are to challenge each other in that. 497 00:20:19,802 --> 00:20:20,754 How do we do that? 498 00:20:20,842 --> 00:20:24,242 Not forsaking verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 499 00:20:24,306 --> 00:20:29,154 together as the manner of some is, but exhorting or, or encouraging, 500 00:20:29,282 --> 00:20:30,386 challenging one another. 501 00:20:30,458 --> 00:20:33,090 And so much the more, as you see the day approaching. 502 00:20:33,250 --> 00:20:36,210 And so we see that there is an impact in fellowship. 503 00:20:36,290 --> 00:20:40,006 We see that there's an impact in spending time together and encouraging 504 00:20:40,038 --> 00:20:40,534 one another. 505 00:20:40,622 --> 00:20:42,230 And, and what Paul says here is this. 506 00:20:42,270 --> 00:20:45,542 He says, look, I am so thankful for you that I want to be 507 00:20:45,566 --> 00:20:46,198 with you. 508 00:20:46,334 --> 00:20:47,862 When's the last time you said this? 509 00:20:47,886 --> 00:20:49,542 Okay, real, real talk this morning. 510 00:20:49,646 --> 00:20:52,182 When's the last time you said, I'm so thankful for what God is doing 511 00:20:52,206 --> 00:20:54,934 in other people's lives that I want to spend some more time with 512 00:20:54,942 --> 00:20:55,930 these Christians? 513 00:20:56,430 --> 00:20:58,326 Some, Some people say the opposite, right? 514 00:20:58,398 --> 00:20:59,366 Some people say the opposite. 515 00:20:59,398 --> 00:21:02,774 Some people say, I like God, I love God, I love church. 516 00:21:02,822 --> 00:21:03,190 But I. 517 00:21:03,230 --> 00:21:05,330 I don't know about those other Christians that are there. 518 00:21:06,210 --> 00:21:07,710 Let's go back to theology. 519 00:21:08,690 --> 00:21:09,226 Okay? 520 00:21:09,258 --> 00:21:10,746 Theology of the church. 521 00:21:10,938 --> 00:21:12,410 What does the Bible say the church is? 522 00:21:12,450 --> 00:21:13,530 The church is not the building. 523 00:21:13,650 --> 00:21:16,602 The church is not the hour, hour and a half, depending on how 524 00:21:16,626 --> 00:21:18,554 long the preacher preaches, how, how. 525 00:21:18,642 --> 00:21:19,514 That is not the church. 526 00:21:19,562 --> 00:21:22,202 The church is the body, the people. 527 00:21:22,386 --> 00:21:26,122 And so therefore, if I love God and God loves the church, and 528 00:21:26,146 --> 00:21:28,762 God wants us to love the same things that he loves, we are to love 529 00:21:28,786 --> 00:21:29,386 the church. 530 00:21:29,498 --> 00:21:31,674 Loving the church doesn't mean I really love this building. 531 00:21:31,762 --> 00:21:31,968 I. 532 00:21:31,994 --> 00:21:33,220 I really love the grounds. 533 00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:34,516 I really love the programs. 534 00:21:34,548 --> 00:21:36,404 I really love the name no Loving. 535 00:21:36,452 --> 00:21:39,252 The church is loving the people that are here with us in the 536 00:21:39,276 --> 00:21:39,748 body. 537 00:21:39,884 --> 00:21:40,788 That's what it's all about. 538 00:21:40,844 --> 00:21:43,440 So Paul says, I'm so thankful for them. 539 00:21:44,060 --> 00:21:44,836 Verse 10. 540 00:21:44,908 --> 00:21:46,068 Making requests. 541 00:21:46,164 --> 00:21:50,324 If by any means, now at length, I might have a prosperous 542 00:21:50,372 --> 00:21:52,932 journey by the will of God to come unto you. 543 00:21:52,956 --> 00:21:54,932 He says, I love you so much. 544 00:21:55,036 --> 00:21:56,340 I'm so thankful for you. 545 00:21:56,380 --> 00:21:59,412 I'm so thankful to the Lord that I want to do everything that 546 00:21:59,436 --> 00:22:03,370 I possibly can to have a prosperous journey by God's will. 547 00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:04,538 He says, lord willing. 548 00:22:04,634 --> 00:22:06,794 You ever heard someone say, hey, I'll be there, Lord, Willing. 549 00:22:06,842 --> 00:22:07,706 That's what Paul says. 550 00:22:07,778 --> 00:22:09,370 I want to come to be with you. 551 00:22:09,410 --> 00:22:10,234 Lord willing. 552 00:22:10,362 --> 00:22:11,390 Lord willing. 553 00:22:12,450 --> 00:22:13,146 Verse 11. 554 00:22:13,218 --> 00:22:18,522 For I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual 555 00:22:18,586 --> 00:22:19,210 gift. 556 00:22:19,370 --> 00:22:25,962 To the end ye may be established, that is that I may be 557 00:22:25,986 --> 00:22:27,838 comforted together with you by. 558 00:22:27,874 --> 00:22:30,342 By the mutual faith, both you and me. 559 00:22:30,366 --> 00:22:31,542 What's he talking about here? 560 00:22:31,646 --> 00:22:34,230 Well, point number three, togetherness. 561 00:22:34,390 --> 00:22:35,510 I had to keep the. 562 00:22:35,630 --> 00:22:37,814 Had to keep the alliteration going with the tease. 563 00:22:37,862 --> 00:22:38,150 But you. 564 00:22:38,190 --> 00:22:39,702 You know what togetherness means? 565 00:22:39,886 --> 00:22:41,238 It means unity. 566 00:22:41,414 --> 00:22:42,950 It means Fellowship. 567 00:22:43,110 --> 00:22:46,246 Verse 11 and 12 specifically speak about Christian fellowship 568 00:22:46,278 --> 00:22:47,510 and what it should look like. 569 00:22:47,630 --> 00:22:49,302 He says in verse 10, I want to be with you. 570 00:22:49,326 --> 00:22:50,966 If God wills it, I want to be with you. 571 00:22:51,038 --> 00:22:52,630 And this is what I want to have happen. 572 00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:55,210 So it's fellowship with a purpose. 573 00:22:55,970 --> 00:22:57,370 Fellowship with a purpose. 574 00:22:57,450 --> 00:22:58,554 What's the purpose? 575 00:22:58,682 --> 00:23:02,122 For I long to see you that I might impart. 576 00:23:02,186 --> 00:23:04,602 That I may impart unto you some spiritual gift. 577 00:23:04,666 --> 00:23:06,390 He says, I want to serve you. 578 00:23:06,770 --> 00:23:09,914 I want to bless you with what God has blessed me with. 579 00:23:10,002 --> 00:23:12,298 That's why God gives us spiritual gifts. 580 00:23:12,474 --> 00:23:15,722 God gives us spiritual gifts not for us to keep for ourselves 581 00:23:15,866 --> 00:23:17,722 and to have other people look at us. 582 00:23:17,826 --> 00:23:21,400 God doesn't give us talent so that we can have people praise us. 583 00:23:21,530 --> 00:23:23,036 God gives us spiritual gifts. 584 00:23:23,068 --> 00:23:26,556 God gives us natural talent so that we can point people to Christ 585 00:23:26,628 --> 00:23:30,396 and serve them and bless them and allow ourselves to encourage 586 00:23:30,428 --> 00:23:31,244 them in the Spirit. 587 00:23:31,292 --> 00:23:34,316 So Paul says, I want to come to you and bless you. 588 00:23:34,388 --> 00:23:36,524 I want to come to you and serve you. 589 00:23:36,692 --> 00:23:39,708 That's what it means to have Christian fellowship with a purpose. 590 00:23:39,804 --> 00:23:42,732 I'm not coming to see what I can get, but I'm coming to see how 591 00:23:42,756 --> 00:23:46,738 I can impart love and grace to others around me. 592 00:23:46,924 --> 00:23:49,926 And so we see in verse number 11, he says, I want to impart unto 593 00:23:49,958 --> 00:23:51,846 you some spiritual gift. 594 00:23:52,038 --> 00:23:53,350 Why so. 595 00:23:53,390 --> 00:23:54,710 So that they can be, you know. 596 00:23:54,750 --> 00:23:55,782 Think he's a great guy? 597 00:23:55,846 --> 00:23:56,166 No. 598 00:23:56,238 --> 00:23:58,934 It says, to the end ye may be established. 599 00:23:58,982 --> 00:24:01,542 That word established essentially just means strengthened. 600 00:24:01,606 --> 00:24:04,454 He says, I want to come and serve you so that you can be strengthened 601 00:24:04,502 --> 00:24:05,530 in the Lord. 602 00:24:06,110 --> 00:24:08,470 Another way that we can say that is is edify. 603 00:24:08,550 --> 00:24:09,398 Edify is a. 604 00:24:09,454 --> 00:24:12,102 A word that we use in the Bible that essentially means building 605 00:24:12,206 --> 00:24:14,648 up, strengthening. 606 00:24:14,824 --> 00:24:18,008 Everything that we should do within Christian fellowship, everything 607 00:24:18,064 --> 00:24:21,304 that we should do within the church should be focused on edifying 608 00:24:21,352 --> 00:24:24,424 other believers, never tearing them down. 609 00:24:24,592 --> 00:24:24,920 Right. 610 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,024 Sometimes what we see within churches is that it becomes political 611 00:24:28,112 --> 00:24:30,840 or it becomes agenda driven. 612 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,328 And therefore, if I'm not being lifted up, I tear other people 613 00:24:34,384 --> 00:24:34,888 down. 614 00:24:35,024 --> 00:24:38,312 So, so edifying is the opposite of tearing people down. 615 00:24:38,416 --> 00:24:39,912 Edifying is building people up. 616 00:24:39,936 --> 00:24:41,096 How do we build people up? 617 00:24:41,168 --> 00:24:43,432 The Bible says that we can build people up by what we say to 618 00:24:43,456 --> 00:24:48,344 them, by what we do for them, what we do to them, how, how we sacrifice 619 00:24:48,392 --> 00:24:52,456 for them, how we take time to give them the things that they need 620 00:24:52,528 --> 00:24:53,464 if we have them. 621 00:24:53,552 --> 00:24:56,664 The Bible says very clearly that we should look for opportunities 622 00:24:56,712 --> 00:24:59,580 to edify the saints for the work of the ministry. 623 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:03,192 And so he says, I want to come to impart a spiritual gift to you, 624 00:25:03,296 --> 00:25:06,932 to strengthen you in the Lord, to edify you, to build you up. 625 00:25:07,056 --> 00:25:10,220 One of the goals of Christian fellowship within the church should 626 00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:14,828 be edification, strengthening, building people up in the truth of 627 00:25:14,884 --> 00:25:17,320 the word and in the way that we live our lives. 628 00:25:18,260 --> 00:25:19,640 So where does that happen? 629 00:25:20,420 --> 00:25:25,692 Well, really bad place for edification to happen within the 630 00:25:25,716 --> 00:25:27,452 believers is like, during the preaching time. 631 00:25:27,476 --> 00:25:29,320 Okay, now you would say, why is that? 632 00:25:29,620 --> 00:25:32,124 Well, because if all of you got up right now and try to edify 633 00:25:32,172 --> 00:25:34,852 each other and have a conversation, it would be kind of 634 00:25:35,036 --> 00:25:35,812 distracting. 635 00:25:35,876 --> 00:25:36,628 Okay. 636 00:25:36,804 --> 00:25:37,092 And. 637 00:25:37,116 --> 00:25:38,436 And God is a God of order. 638 00:25:38,508 --> 00:25:40,180 He's not a God of confusion. 639 00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:41,460 So, so what does that mean? 640 00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:45,684 That means that this is just one opportunity for me as the pastor 641 00:25:45,732 --> 00:25:47,572 to preach to you the word of God. 642 00:25:47,716 --> 00:25:52,500 But true, authentic Christian fellowship does not happen just on 643 00:25:52,540 --> 00:25:53,908 Sunday morning during the worship service. 644 00:25:53,964 --> 00:25:55,600 What are we doing during the worship service? 645 00:25:55,980 --> 00:25:59,076 It's really difficult to think about worship, right? 646 00:25:59,148 --> 00:26:00,542 We are worshiping together. 647 00:26:00,676 --> 00:26:00,970 So. 648 00:26:01,010 --> 00:26:04,230 So the worship service is the culmination of the whole week. 649 00:26:04,610 --> 00:26:08,298 The Christian fellowship happens outside of really, truly 650 00:26:08,314 --> 00:26:09,274 the worship service. 651 00:26:09,362 --> 00:26:12,106 Now we have fellowship times because we want to try to foster 652 00:26:12,138 --> 00:26:12,826 that environment. 653 00:26:12,978 --> 00:26:16,106 But what that really means is that the fellowship happens in other 654 00:26:16,178 --> 00:26:18,538 areas in our homes. 655 00:26:18,714 --> 00:26:22,442 Acts, chapter 2, verse 42 says that one of the core elements of 656 00:26:22,466 --> 00:26:24,794 the early church was fellowship. 657 00:26:24,922 --> 00:26:27,752 It was also the apostles doctrine, the teaching. 658 00:26:27,906 --> 00:26:29,212 It was also prayer. 659 00:26:29,276 --> 00:26:30,348 We've already talked about that. 660 00:26:30,404 --> 00:26:33,580 And it was some breaking of bread, but fellowship's right there, 661 00:26:33,620 --> 00:26:37,120 listed as one of the core elements of the church. 662 00:26:37,620 --> 00:26:41,084 But the Acts church was not just meeting in a building once a 663 00:26:41,092 --> 00:26:41,212 week. 664 00:26:41,236 --> 00:26:46,988 The Acts church, it says, was meeting day to day in the homes. 665 00:26:47,164 --> 00:26:49,292 Now some of you are like, hey, no one in this church can come over 666 00:26:49,316 --> 00:26:50,028 to my house, okay? 667 00:26:50,044 --> 00:26:51,036 That's off limits. 668 00:26:51,148 --> 00:26:51,516 Okay? 669 00:26:51,548 --> 00:26:54,172 The truth is, is that in our culture today, we have other opportunities 670 00:26:54,236 --> 00:26:56,254 for people to get together, right? 671 00:26:56,342 --> 00:26:57,982 So practical things, okay? 672 00:26:58,046 --> 00:27:01,006 So let's remove ourselves from the theoretical and let's put ourselves 673 00:27:01,038 --> 00:27:02,398 into a practical thing. 674 00:27:02,534 --> 00:27:03,982 We can have Edification. 675 00:27:04,046 --> 00:27:09,230 We can have fellowship, we can have encouragement in Dunkin Donuts, 676 00:27:09,390 --> 00:27:10,686 in the coffee house. 677 00:27:10,838 --> 00:27:13,502 We can, we can have encouragement on the ball field, 678 00:27:13,606 --> 00:27:16,574 we can have encouragement in our homes, we can have encouragement 679 00:27:16,622 --> 00:27:17,534 anywhere, right? 680 00:27:17,622 --> 00:27:20,650 Because the fellowship should be real. 681 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:25,048 Okay, let me, let me say it this way and this is a way that I've 682 00:27:25,064 --> 00:27:26,200 heard it said before. 683 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,060 We as a church are doing life together. 684 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,256 We're doing life together, we're going through trials together. 685 00:27:33,408 --> 00:27:37,448 And so what Paul says here is, I want to come to establish the truth 686 00:27:37,464 --> 00:27:38,264 of Jesus Christ. 687 00:27:38,352 --> 00:27:41,288 I want you to be strengthened in that then verse 12, because it's 688 00:27:41,304 --> 00:27:42,824 a two way street, okay? 689 00:27:42,872 --> 00:27:46,712 He says, I want to come and strengthen you in the Lord by what 690 00:27:46,736 --> 00:27:48,092 God has blessed me with. 691 00:27:48,256 --> 00:27:50,160 But then look at verse number 12. 692 00:27:50,780 --> 00:27:54,660 He wanted to be encouraged by them in the unity of faith. 693 00:27:54,740 --> 00:27:58,292 So verse 12 he says, that is that I may be comforted. 694 00:27:58,436 --> 00:28:03,012 So he says, just as much as I want to serve you and minister to 695 00:28:03,036 --> 00:28:07,092 you so that you can understand the strength of God, I want to be 696 00:28:07,116 --> 00:28:08,324 encouraged by you. 697 00:28:08,412 --> 00:28:10,148 Now how can he be encouraged by them? 698 00:28:10,204 --> 00:28:11,108 He says it right there. 699 00:28:11,164 --> 00:28:16,922 He says, by the mutual faith, both of you and me. 700 00:28:17,106 --> 00:28:19,242 So how is he going to be encouraged by them? 701 00:28:19,426 --> 00:28:22,538 By understanding that they believe in the same things, that 702 00:28:22,594 --> 00:28:25,450 they have the same purpose, that they have the same Lord, they 703 00:28:25,490 --> 00:28:26,490 have the same focus. 704 00:28:26,610 --> 00:28:29,274 And so what he says here is, he says, I'm going to be encouraged 705 00:28:29,402 --> 00:28:32,298 by you to see you walking in faith. 706 00:28:32,474 --> 00:28:35,898 And so we see that there is edification and then there's something 707 00:28:35,954 --> 00:28:37,146 called exhortation. 708 00:28:37,258 --> 00:28:39,178 Exhortation is encouragement. 709 00:28:39,354 --> 00:28:43,280 Exhortation is, hey, I, I want to encourage someone else by living 710 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,880 together in faith with them, having a common purpose, having a 711 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:48,688 common goal, folks. 712 00:28:48,784 --> 00:28:50,896 It speaks of Christian unity. 713 00:28:51,088 --> 00:28:54,080 Paul says, I'm going to be comforted by being like minded with 714 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:54,704 you. 715 00:28:54,872 --> 00:28:59,152 We have like minded hearts and like minded focus when it comes to 716 00:28:59,256 --> 00:29:01,472 what we want to believe and what we want to do. 717 00:29:01,496 --> 00:29:04,064 And so what I would say is this, I would encourage you at some 718 00:29:04,072 --> 00:29:04,240 point. 719 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,008 We don't have time to go there, but read Jesus's prayer in 720 00:29:07,064 --> 00:29:08,300 John chapter 17. 721 00:29:09,060 --> 00:29:11,340 Some people call it Jesus's high priestly prayer. 722 00:29:11,420 --> 00:29:13,756 One of the things that Jesus prays about in his high priestly 723 00:29:13,788 --> 00:29:17,292 prayer to the Father about the believers is this, that they would 724 00:29:17,316 --> 00:29:22,156 be unified, that they would be together, that they would be like 725 00:29:22,228 --> 00:29:25,980 minded, that they would be united in their hearts, united in 726 00:29:26,020 --> 00:29:26,700 a purpose. 727 00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:30,892 And so what we would see here this morning is this Christian fellowship 728 00:29:30,956 --> 00:29:33,148 really has a couple of different focuses. 729 00:29:33,244 --> 00:29:36,580 Number One, it's there to encourage others, but it's there 730 00:29:36,620 --> 00:29:39,188 also to have unity and be encouraged ourselves. 731 00:29:39,364 --> 00:29:40,880 And so it's give and take. 732 00:29:41,660 --> 00:29:44,580 And so what we see here is that Paul's desire is to be together 733 00:29:44,620 --> 00:29:48,884 with them, to love them, to serve them, but he also wants to 734 00:29:48,892 --> 00:29:49,972 be encouraged by them. 735 00:29:50,076 --> 00:29:56,052 You know what, I can tell you very, very humbly and almost in a 736 00:29:56,076 --> 00:29:59,604 sense of being embarrassed that I have gone to people's houses 737 00:29:59,652 --> 00:30:03,154 and I've gone to hospital rooms thinking that, hey, you know 738 00:30:03,162 --> 00:30:05,906 what, I'm the pastor, I'm going to come in and try to encourage 739 00:30:05,938 --> 00:30:06,818 their heart today. 740 00:30:06,954 --> 00:30:09,938 You know, I'm planning out the Bible verses that I'm going to say 741 00:30:09,994 --> 00:30:10,418 and do. 742 00:30:10,474 --> 00:30:14,370 And when I get there, I'm trying to impart some care to them. 743 00:30:14,490 --> 00:30:17,906 And then they turn around and say some wonderful biblical truths 744 00:30:17,938 --> 00:30:18,978 and preach to me. 745 00:30:19,114 --> 00:30:22,430 And I feel like I'm more encouraged than I encourage them. 746 00:30:22,730 --> 00:30:25,122 And the truth is that sometimes we think about it all being 747 00:30:25,146 --> 00:30:27,826 about us, but the truth is that when we go to encourage somebody 748 00:30:27,858 --> 00:30:30,818 else, sometimes God blesses us with that encouragement right back. 749 00:30:30,954 --> 00:30:33,682 I can even say, this past week I had an opportunity to talk to a 750 00:30:33,706 --> 00:30:36,578 dear lady and I was thinking, man, I really need to come and encourage 751 00:30:36,594 --> 00:30:38,050 her and give her a bunch of Bible verses. 752 00:30:38,130 --> 00:30:38,978 You know what she was doing? 753 00:30:39,034 --> 00:30:41,362 She was quoting Bible verses to me, okay? 754 00:30:41,426 --> 00:30:43,122 And I'm like, wow, that's amazing. 755 00:30:43,266 --> 00:30:44,466 And that's a blessing. 756 00:30:44,578 --> 00:30:47,362 And so sometimes when I think about it being all about me and how 757 00:30:47,386 --> 00:30:50,466 much I can bring to the table, I forget that the Christian fellowship 758 00:30:50,498 --> 00:30:52,850 is all about being a two way street, right? 759 00:30:52,890 --> 00:30:56,034 We're here for each other and ultimately we're here for the Lord. 760 00:30:56,162 --> 00:30:57,794 And so what we see here is this. 761 00:30:57,882 --> 00:31:01,234 Paul wanted to encourage them, but Paul wanted to be encouraged 762 00:31:01,282 --> 00:31:01,698 as well. 763 00:31:01,754 --> 00:31:03,042 He needed encouragement. 764 00:31:03,186 --> 00:31:05,410 Think about the things that Paul was going through at this point. 765 00:31:05,530 --> 00:31:09,378 I mean, he's been persecuted, he's been chased out of town, he's 766 00:31:09,394 --> 00:31:11,666 been whipped, he's been, he's been stoned. 767 00:31:11,698 --> 00:31:14,162 There's all these things that Paul has been dealing with in his 768 00:31:14,186 --> 00:31:14,418 life. 769 00:31:14,474 --> 00:31:16,866 And ultimately Paul says, you know what, I need some encouragement 770 00:31:16,898 --> 00:31:17,346 as well. 771 00:31:17,418 --> 00:31:20,354 And coming to a place of knowing that you are serving the 772 00:31:20,362 --> 00:31:22,874 Lord and we have the same fellowship and the same faith. 773 00:31:22,962 --> 00:31:23,530 Hey, you know what? 774 00:31:23,570 --> 00:31:24,950 That's going to encourage me. 775 00:31:25,490 --> 00:31:27,002 But then he moves on a little bit further here. 776 00:31:27,026 --> 00:31:31,610 Verse 13 says, Now I would not have you ignorant brethren, that 777 00:31:31,650 --> 00:31:38,170 often times I purpose to come unto you, but was let hitherto that 778 00:31:38,210 --> 00:31:42,586 I might have Some fruit among you also, even as among the Gentiles, 779 00:31:42,698 --> 00:31:44,170 around the other Gentiles. 780 00:31:44,330 --> 00:31:45,242 So what's he saying here? 781 00:31:45,266 --> 00:31:47,226 Well, we're going to get to the conclusion here in a few moments. 782 00:31:47,258 --> 00:31:48,010 But what is he saying? 783 00:31:48,050 --> 00:31:49,046 He's saying this. 784 00:31:49,218 --> 00:31:53,454 You should know that I've wanted to come to see you, but doors 785 00:31:53,502 --> 00:31:54,590 have been closed. 786 00:31:54,750 --> 00:31:56,606 There have been some roadblocks. 787 00:31:56,798 --> 00:31:59,214 And I'm going to tell you that every time that we try to do the 788 00:31:59,222 --> 00:32:02,254 work of the Lord, like Paul and like other people in Scripture, 789 00:32:02,302 --> 00:32:05,278 every time we try to proclaim the gospel, every time we try to 790 00:32:05,334 --> 00:32:07,998 promote Christian fellowship, every time we try to. 791 00:32:08,054 --> 00:32:11,966 To maybe go with someone and pray for them, there will be roadblocks. 792 00:32:12,158 --> 00:32:14,318 Sometimes those roadblocks are from the enemy. 793 00:32:14,414 --> 00:32:16,194 Sometimes it's a closed door from the Lord. 794 00:32:16,302 --> 00:32:19,978 Ultimately, we see here that Paul was going to face some hindrances 795 00:32:20,074 --> 00:32:21,498 in his service to the Lord. 796 00:32:21,594 --> 00:32:23,290 And that's what he says there in verse 13. 797 00:32:23,330 --> 00:32:27,242 He says, I want to come to you, but God is closing doors. 798 00:32:27,306 --> 00:32:27,674 Why? 799 00:32:27,762 --> 00:32:30,330 Well, there's a purpose there so that he can minister to some other 800 00:32:30,370 --> 00:32:31,114 Gentiles. 801 00:32:31,242 --> 00:32:35,066 He says, I want there to be fruit among you even as I have ministered 802 00:32:35,098 --> 00:32:35,818 to the other Gentiles. 803 00:32:35,834 --> 00:32:38,950 So it wasn't God's plan for Paul to go to Rome as of yet. 804 00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:41,962 Paul wanted to go there, but God was closing the door so that 805 00:32:41,986 --> 00:32:44,244 another work of the Gospel could happen. 806 00:32:44,442 --> 00:32:47,280 And you might say, well, Pastor, I want to really try to be 807 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:48,608 fellowshipping within the church. 808 00:32:48,704 --> 00:32:52,240 I really want to have a small group that I can be a part of. 809 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,832 I really want to find a ministry that I can serve in and 810 00:32:54,856 --> 00:32:55,840 be around other people. 811 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,680 But every time I try to do that, something seems to come up. 812 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,064 I have a roadblock or have an illness or I have a struggle, folks, 813 00:33:04,112 --> 00:33:04,704 that's okay. 814 00:33:04,752 --> 00:33:06,192 That's not God trying to stop you. 815 00:33:06,216 --> 00:33:08,752 God never wants to stop you from obeying him. 816 00:33:08,856 --> 00:33:11,786 Sometimes it might be that God is deviating you to something else. 817 00:33:11,928 --> 00:33:12,774 Don't quit. 818 00:33:12,902 --> 00:33:15,302 The Bible says in Galatians, chapter six, don't get weary and 819 00:33:15,326 --> 00:33:15,750 well doing. 820 00:33:15,790 --> 00:33:17,974 For in due season, if. 821 00:33:18,062 --> 00:33:20,278 If we faint not, we will reap. 822 00:33:20,374 --> 00:33:21,846 We will reap that fruit. 823 00:33:21,958 --> 00:33:24,406 And so stay focused on what God has called you to do. 824 00:33:24,478 --> 00:33:26,150 Paul says, I want to come to Rome. 825 00:33:26,230 --> 00:33:27,462 I want to serve in Rome. 826 00:33:27,526 --> 00:33:28,694 I want to love you guys. 827 00:33:28,742 --> 00:33:30,182 I want to be there with you. 828 00:33:30,286 --> 00:33:31,782 But it wasn't God's timing. 829 00:33:31,846 --> 00:33:35,382 Now we know that God eventually allows Paul to get to 830 00:33:35,406 --> 00:33:38,424 Rome, but not on the terms that he was thinking. 831 00:33:38,622 --> 00:33:40,820 Okay, fast forward ahead in history. 832 00:33:40,940 --> 00:33:43,908 Paul wanted to go on his accord and minister with him. 833 00:33:43,964 --> 00:33:46,676 But Paul actually does go to Rome later on in life, but he goes 834 00:33:46,708 --> 00:33:47,720 as a prisoner. 835 00:33:48,060 --> 00:33:50,852 And he does minister to them, but he ministers to them until the 836 00:33:50,876 --> 00:33:54,180 fact that he is persecuted and then ultimately martyred for his 837 00:33:54,220 --> 00:33:54,772 faith. 838 00:33:54,916 --> 00:33:57,412 And sometimes in our life, we don't know what God is doing. 839 00:33:57,436 --> 00:34:00,244 But there are going to be roadblocks, there's going to be detours. 840 00:34:00,292 --> 00:34:03,252 And we keep trusting the Lord because God's will will be done. 841 00:34:03,356 --> 00:34:04,580 We must trust in his will. 842 00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:05,812 We must be patient in his will. 843 00:34:05,836 --> 00:34:08,440 And Paul says, I want to be there with you guys. 844 00:34:09,180 --> 00:34:12,132 God has other plans for me right now, but to the best of my 845 00:34:12,156 --> 00:34:13,108 ability, I will be there. 846 00:34:13,164 --> 00:34:15,684 And that's what I want us to think about as Christians today, 847 00:34:15,772 --> 00:34:16,708 as believers. 848 00:34:16,804 --> 00:34:18,836 Let us desire the fellowship. 849 00:34:18,948 --> 00:34:21,364 Let us desire the thankfulness. 850 00:34:21,412 --> 00:34:23,092 Let us desire the ministry. 851 00:34:23,156 --> 00:34:27,028 Let us desire preaching and proclaiming the gospel to those around 852 00:34:27,084 --> 00:34:27,348 us. 853 00:34:27,404 --> 00:34:30,372 And if God closes the door, great, let's just go other way. 854 00:34:30,396 --> 00:34:30,692 Let's go. 855 00:34:30,716 --> 00:34:31,060 Let's go. 856 00:34:31,100 --> 00:34:32,418 Let's go a different path. 857 00:34:32,604 --> 00:34:33,718 God never wants us. 858 00:34:33,774 --> 00:34:34,294 You know what? 859 00:34:34,382 --> 00:34:34,726 Pray. 860 00:34:34,758 --> 00:34:37,126 If you pray for God's will, pray for God's will in your life. 861 00:34:37,198 --> 00:34:39,398 I really, you know, like, should I go here? 862 00:34:39,454 --> 00:34:40,246 Should I not go here? 863 00:34:40,318 --> 00:34:44,214 But there are some things in scripture that clearly lay out what 864 00:34:44,222 --> 00:34:46,150 God's will is that you don't have to sit about and pray about 865 00:34:46,190 --> 00:34:46,966 for a year. 866 00:34:47,118 --> 00:34:47,622 Okay? 867 00:34:47,686 --> 00:34:50,982 So for example, someone walks up to me and they say, hey, why do 868 00:34:51,006 --> 00:34:52,726 you have hope? 869 00:34:52,878 --> 00:34:54,410 Why do you have faith? 870 00:34:54,830 --> 00:34:58,882 The Bible says in First Peter, chapter three, give an answer for 871 00:34:58,906 --> 00:35:00,910 the hope that's within you, Right? 872 00:35:01,450 --> 00:35:03,794 So the Bible very clearly tells us the will of God is for us 873 00:35:03,802 --> 00:35:05,470 to point people to Jesus Christ. 874 00:35:06,410 --> 00:35:07,906 And so what I would tell you is this. 875 00:35:07,978 --> 00:35:10,610 As you are living your life and as you are desiring things and 876 00:35:10,650 --> 00:35:13,666 as you are wanting to find a direction, do the things that God 877 00:35:13,698 --> 00:35:15,986 has clearly laid out for us in scripture. 878 00:35:16,178 --> 00:35:18,110 Tell other people about Jesus Christ. 879 00:35:18,490 --> 00:35:20,834 Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 880 00:35:20,882 --> 00:35:22,178 Love your neighbor as yourself. 881 00:35:22,274 --> 00:35:24,230 These are things that are the will of God. 882 00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:27,364 The Bible says this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning 883 00:35:27,412 --> 00:35:27,764 you. 884 00:35:27,852 --> 00:35:28,052 Right? 885 00:35:28,076 --> 00:35:29,476 To be thankful. 886 00:35:29,668 --> 00:35:31,396 That's actually a passage of scripture. 887 00:35:31,428 --> 00:35:33,380 It's God's will for us to be thankful. 888 00:35:33,540 --> 00:35:35,876 It's God's will for us to study his word. 889 00:35:35,908 --> 00:35:40,004 It's God's will for us to follow him and obey him and to fellowship 890 00:35:40,052 --> 00:35:40,564 with others. 891 00:35:40,652 --> 00:35:42,964 And so these are all things that we need to ask God. 892 00:35:43,012 --> 00:35:46,420 Hey, show me how to do this, but not show me to do this. 893 00:35:46,540 --> 00:35:49,236 I don't need to sit around and say, lord, is it your will that I'm 894 00:35:49,268 --> 00:35:50,340 fellowshipping with people? 895 00:35:50,460 --> 00:35:52,644 Is it your will that I tell the people about you? 896 00:35:52,732 --> 00:35:54,852 We already know that's his will, and we find his will through 897 00:35:54,876 --> 00:35:55,236 his word. 898 00:35:55,268 --> 00:36:00,404 And so therefore, hindrances, roadblocks will happen, difficulties 899 00:36:00,452 --> 00:36:02,020 will happen, but don't quit. 900 00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:02,804 Push forward. 901 00:36:02,892 --> 00:36:04,084 Push forward in the will of God. 902 00:36:04,132 --> 00:36:07,012 Now, God will close doors, and that's okay because he'll open other 903 00:36:07,036 --> 00:36:07,380 doors. 904 00:36:07,460 --> 00:36:08,916 And that's what happens here with Paul. 905 00:36:09,028 --> 00:36:09,972 And so we go down here. 906 00:36:09,996 --> 00:36:11,828 Let's look at verse number 14. 907 00:36:11,884 --> 00:36:15,380 He says, I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, 908 00:36:15,460 --> 00:36:17,044 both to the wise and to the unwise. 909 00:36:17,092 --> 00:36:20,076 Paul says, I owe people a lot of things, and not in a financial 910 00:36:20,148 --> 00:36:22,460 way, but Paul says, I've been blessed by this world. 911 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:24,220 I've been blessed as a Roman citizen. 912 00:36:24,300 --> 00:36:26,140 I owe people something. 913 00:36:26,260 --> 00:36:30,636 Okay, now Paul could give them a lot of things, but what does Paul 914 00:36:30,668 --> 00:36:32,200 say he's going to bring to them? 915 00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:34,812 What does Paul say is the best thing that he can bring to people 916 00:36:34,836 --> 00:36:35,916 that he owes something to? 917 00:36:35,988 --> 00:36:37,228 It says it there in verse 15. 918 00:36:37,284 --> 00:36:43,692 He says, so as much as is it so, as much as in me is, I am ready 919 00:36:43,756 --> 00:36:46,412 to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. 920 00:36:46,476 --> 00:36:50,230 Also, Paul says the best way that he can help others, the best 921 00:36:50,270 --> 00:36:53,798 way that he can serve others, the best way that he can be kind 922 00:36:53,854 --> 00:36:57,334 to others and pay back what has been given to him is by preaching 923 00:36:57,462 --> 00:36:58,374 the gospel. 924 00:36:58,502 --> 00:37:02,230 The best way to pay people back is the greatest news ever given. 925 00:37:02,270 --> 00:37:04,214 And that is the message of Jesus Christ. 926 00:37:04,382 --> 00:37:05,382 And so what does he say? 927 00:37:05,406 --> 00:37:09,222 He says, everything in me, with everything in me, I'm going 928 00:37:09,246 --> 00:37:12,370 to preach the gospel to those around me and to you. 929 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:14,880 And he says there, verse 15, he says this. 930 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:20,016 He says, as much as in me is I am ready. 931 00:37:20,128 --> 00:37:21,712 What is he ready to do? 932 00:37:21,896 --> 00:37:24,820 He's ready to preach the gospel. 933 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,460 The question that I would give you here this morning is this. 934 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,180 Are you ready? 935 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:32,688 Are you ready to preach the gospel? 936 00:37:32,784 --> 00:37:34,860 You might say, well, that's, that's not my job. 937 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:36,576 That's your job. 938 00:37:36,648 --> 00:37:37,344 You're the preacher. 939 00:37:37,392 --> 00:37:38,180 You preach. 940 00:37:38,590 --> 00:37:41,210 But the truth is is that pastors preach. 941 00:37:42,510 --> 00:37:46,614 But the Bible says that preaching is not isolated, alone 942 00:37:46,662 --> 00:37:48,250 to the pastor of the church. 943 00:37:49,230 --> 00:37:51,094 The Great commission is not just for pastors. 944 00:37:51,142 --> 00:37:53,238 The Great commission is for all believers. 945 00:37:53,414 --> 00:37:56,930 We should be ready to preach the gospel where God calls us. 946 00:37:57,230 --> 00:38:00,470 God might call you to preach the gospel in the children's ministries. 947 00:38:00,630 --> 00:38:03,670 Preach the gospel with everything in you. 948 00:38:03,710 --> 00:38:07,370 To those little kids, some of you might say, well, I'm not called 949 00:38:07,410 --> 00:38:08,314 for children's ministry. 950 00:38:08,362 --> 00:38:10,778 I'm called to the senior saints ministry. 951 00:38:10,874 --> 00:38:12,602 Preach the gospel with everything in you. 952 00:38:12,626 --> 00:38:15,866 To those senior saints say, well, my ministry is somewhere else. 953 00:38:15,898 --> 00:38:18,426 My ministry is the people that are in this walk of life. 954 00:38:18,498 --> 00:38:19,418 My ministry is in. 955 00:38:19,474 --> 00:38:22,922 In this walk of life, folks, wherever God calls you to go, where 956 00:38:22,946 --> 00:38:24,030 is your Rome? 957 00:38:24,450 --> 00:38:28,310 Wherever your Rome is, Preach the gospel with everything in you. 958 00:38:28,690 --> 00:38:31,706 So I don't know if I have three points in a poem and an analogy. 959 00:38:31,738 --> 00:38:33,444 That's okay, but preach the gospel. 960 00:38:33,492 --> 00:38:34,388 What's the gospel? 961 00:38:34,484 --> 00:38:36,600 That Jesus Christ came to this earth. 962 00:38:37,180 --> 00:38:38,708 He's God in the flesh. 963 00:38:38,884 --> 00:38:40,116 He dwelt among us. 964 00:38:40,188 --> 00:38:41,300 He knew no sin. 965 00:38:41,380 --> 00:38:43,300 But he who knew no sin became sin for us. 966 00:38:43,340 --> 00:38:45,428 He died on the cross for our sins. 967 00:38:45,524 --> 00:38:48,212 The Bible says that God commendeth or demonstrated his love 968 00:38:48,236 --> 00:38:50,772 towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 969 00:38:50,796 --> 00:38:51,124 us. 970 00:38:51,212 --> 00:38:53,812 Jesus died for those who sinned against Him. 971 00:38:53,836 --> 00:38:57,092 But yet we know that as believers, we trust in him in faith, 972 00:38:57,156 --> 00:38:58,692 that he extends that grace to us. 973 00:38:58,716 --> 00:38:59,412 And he saves us. 974 00:38:59,436 --> 00:39:00,444 And he saves us from. 975 00:39:00,492 --> 00:39:01,372 From a life of sin. 976 00:39:01,436 --> 00:39:03,564 And he saves us to a life of hope. 977 00:39:03,652 --> 00:39:07,084 And we as Christians can know that we no longer have the direction 978 00:39:07,132 --> 00:39:09,276 of destruction to a place called hell. 979 00:39:09,308 --> 00:39:12,476 But we have hope in Jesus Christ to live with him for eternity 980 00:39:12,508 --> 00:39:12,924 in heaven. 981 00:39:12,972 --> 00:39:13,948 That is the gospel. 982 00:39:14,044 --> 00:39:15,180 Jesus died on the cross. 983 00:39:15,260 --> 00:39:18,060 He rose from the dead, and he is ruling and reigning today. 984 00:39:18,100 --> 00:39:19,500 And so that is the gospel. 985 00:39:19,580 --> 00:39:21,160 We proclaim that. 986 00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:24,972 So the, the question is, is this, Maybe God's not calling you 987 00:39:24,996 --> 00:39:25,596 to Rome. 988 00:39:25,708 --> 00:39:26,380 Maybe he is. 989 00:39:26,420 --> 00:39:26,956 I don't know. 990 00:39:27,028 --> 00:39:29,756 Maybe some of you are saying you have a heart for, for Rome, Italy, 991 00:39:29,868 --> 00:39:31,804 for Paul, his heart was Rome. 992 00:39:31,932 --> 00:39:34,300 He wanted to get to Rome to preach the gospel. 993 00:39:34,380 --> 00:39:35,708 But for you, where is your heart? 994 00:39:35,764 --> 00:39:37,880 Where is God pressing you on? 995 00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:40,604 Is God pressing you in a certain area of ministry? 996 00:39:40,652 --> 00:39:42,412 Is God pressing you for your workplace? 997 00:39:42,476 --> 00:39:44,476 Is God pressing you for your home folks? 998 00:39:44,588 --> 00:39:48,028 Sometimes Christians forget about the number one missionary field, 999 00:39:48,084 --> 00:39:50,364 and that is our home folks. 1000 00:39:50,412 --> 00:39:53,052 My, my goal is to preach the gospel on Sunday mornings. 1001 00:39:53,116 --> 00:39:55,912 My goal is to preach the gospel seven days a week, 365. 1002 00:39:56,036 --> 00:40:00,576 But if I neglect the souls that are within my home, I'm missing 1003 00:40:00,688 --> 00:40:01,776 the whole point. 1004 00:40:01,928 --> 00:40:08,144 My number one mission field is Alicia, Micah, Nora, Silas. 1005 00:40:08,192 --> 00:40:10,448 That's my initial mission field. 1006 00:40:10,504 --> 00:40:11,936 I do not want to miss them. 1007 00:40:12,088 --> 00:40:13,872 And then it goes out from there. 1008 00:40:13,976 --> 00:40:17,008 And so for us that have children within the home, maybe Grandchildren 1009 00:40:17,024 --> 00:40:17,696 within the home. 1010 00:40:17,768 --> 00:40:20,128 Hey, minister to them the gospel. 1011 00:40:20,304 --> 00:40:21,686 That's your mission field. 1012 00:40:21,808 --> 00:40:23,498 Well, for some of us, our mission field grows. 1013 00:40:23,514 --> 00:40:26,650 And then we have our workplace, we have our hobbies, we 1014 00:40:26,690 --> 00:40:27,722 have our community. 1015 00:40:27,826 --> 00:40:29,770 We have all these different people that we come across. 1016 00:40:29,810 --> 00:40:31,066 And so that's our Rome. 1017 00:40:31,178 --> 00:40:34,282 And sometimes the Bible says that our mission field is not going 1018 00:40:34,306 --> 00:40:36,630 to be an easy place to minister to. 1019 00:40:36,930 --> 00:40:40,202 I don't think Rome was an easy place to minister to for Paul. 1020 00:40:40,346 --> 00:40:42,330 There were going to be people that were going to be pressing against 1021 00:40:42,370 --> 00:40:42,570 him. 1022 00:40:42,610 --> 00:40:44,330 There was going to be every reason for him to quit. 1023 00:40:44,410 --> 00:40:45,466 But the Bible says no. 1024 00:40:45,538 --> 00:40:47,066 If God has called you there, what? 1025 00:40:47,138 --> 00:40:50,202 We should be ready to preach the gospel for where he calls us 1026 00:40:50,226 --> 00:40:50,950 to go. 1027 00:40:51,250 --> 00:40:53,450 And God clearly lays out a path for us. 1028 00:40:53,490 --> 00:40:57,274 And so therefore we are to preach the gospel where we are. 1029 00:40:57,362 --> 00:40:58,266 It's like saying this. 1030 00:40:58,338 --> 00:41:00,830 The Bible says, love your neighbor as yourself. 1031 00:41:01,170 --> 00:41:03,706 And, and you know the, the lawyer there that was in that passage 1032 00:41:03,738 --> 00:41:06,910 of scripture, that young man, he says, well, who's my neighbor? 1033 00:41:07,490 --> 00:41:07,994 Right? 1034 00:41:08,082 --> 00:41:09,994 Your neighbor is whoever you come across. 1035 00:41:10,162 --> 00:41:11,818 Who are you supposed to preach the gospel to? 1036 00:41:11,874 --> 00:41:15,398 Who is every creature, everyone that you come across? 1037 00:41:15,554 --> 00:41:17,950 Every time God opens a door, proclaim Jesus Christ. 1038 00:41:17,990 --> 00:41:20,542 And it doesn't have to be a formal setting where you bring out 1039 00:41:20,566 --> 00:41:23,006 your Bible and go through every passage of scripture with them 1040 00:41:23,078 --> 00:41:24,286 and force them to get saved. 1041 00:41:24,318 --> 00:41:27,454 Folks that we don't want to hard sell the gospel, okay? 1042 00:41:27,502 --> 00:41:31,278 All we do is lay out the truth of Jesus Christ and it's the Holy 1043 00:41:31,294 --> 00:41:32,730 Spirit that does the work. 1044 00:41:33,110 --> 00:41:34,782 Okay, show me, show me. 1045 00:41:34,806 --> 00:41:37,198 You know, we see this on TV sometimes. 1046 00:41:37,374 --> 00:41:40,942 I watch YouTube and some of you know that that can be a good 1047 00:41:40,966 --> 00:41:41,738 thing or a bad thing. 1048 00:41:41,814 --> 00:41:43,794 Sometimes I watch preachers and they're out in the streets and 1049 00:41:43,802 --> 00:41:46,178 they've got the best analogies for the gospel. 1050 00:41:46,274 --> 00:41:49,442 They have all the historicity of scripture in Jesus Christ and 1051 00:41:49,466 --> 00:41:50,594 a person rejects. 1052 00:41:50,722 --> 00:41:54,418 And then I've witnessed this, a child winning someone to Christ 1053 00:41:54,474 --> 00:41:56,786 by just basically going through the gospel. 1054 00:41:56,978 --> 00:42:00,066 And you would say, well, that person has a much better presentation. 1055 00:42:00,178 --> 00:42:01,954 They know how to close the sale. 1056 00:42:02,082 --> 00:42:06,146 But yet at the same time, how come that little child who just knows 1057 00:42:06,178 --> 00:42:08,254 the basics of scripture can lead someone to Christ? 1058 00:42:08,362 --> 00:42:11,398 It's because the power of the gospel is not based in the person 1059 00:42:11,454 --> 00:42:12,838 who is presenting the gospel. 1060 00:42:12,934 --> 00:42:14,694 The power is in the gospel itself. 1061 00:42:14,822 --> 00:42:16,982 And so therefore we proclaim the truth. 1062 00:42:17,126 --> 00:42:19,798 You don't have to have every answer for every opposition. 1063 00:42:19,894 --> 00:42:22,902 You don't have to have all the Bible verses memorized, but you need 1064 00:42:22,926 --> 00:42:23,958 to know what you believe. 1065 00:42:24,014 --> 00:42:26,950 In if you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, be able to 1066 00:42:26,990 --> 00:42:28,406 explain that to people. 1067 00:42:28,558 --> 00:42:30,374 Explain what Jesus Christ did for you. 1068 00:42:30,462 --> 00:42:32,230 Explain what you are trusting in. 1069 00:42:32,350 --> 00:42:34,790 And this morning, if you can't explain what you are trusting into 1070 00:42:34,830 --> 00:42:39,372 somebody else in love, you are not ready to preach the gospel. 1071 00:42:39,516 --> 00:42:40,236 You are not ready. 1072 00:42:40,268 --> 00:42:41,420 Paul says, I am ready. 1073 00:42:41,500 --> 00:42:43,196 That's Paul's theme, by the way. 1074 00:42:43,268 --> 00:42:43,836 That's his. 1075 00:42:43,908 --> 00:42:45,484 That's his slogan in his ministry. 1076 00:42:45,532 --> 00:42:46,748 I am ready. 1077 00:42:46,924 --> 00:42:50,000 How many of us would say this morning, I am ready. 1078 00:42:50,580 --> 00:42:53,440 If the opportunity arises, I am ready. 1079 00:42:54,100 --> 00:42:56,492 If the ministry opens, I am ready. 1080 00:42:56,636 --> 00:43:00,316 If someone's asking, I am ready to preach the gospel. 1081 00:43:00,508 --> 00:43:01,804 Or you might say, hey, you know what? 1082 00:43:01,812 --> 00:43:03,260 I've got so much on my plate. 1083 00:43:03,340 --> 00:43:04,720 I just don't know if I'm ready. 1084 00:43:05,090 --> 00:43:06,826 I got a lot I got to prepare for. 1085 00:43:06,898 --> 00:43:07,226 I. 1086 00:43:07,298 --> 00:43:09,130 I don't even really know what I believe, folks. 1087 00:43:09,210 --> 00:43:11,350 Get that right today. 1088 00:43:11,650 --> 00:43:14,362 Figure out what you believe about Jesus Christ so that you can 1089 00:43:14,386 --> 00:43:18,442 tell people the truth of who he is and what he has done for you. 1090 00:43:18,546 --> 00:43:21,626 And so we see that verse 15, and Paul says, I am ready to preach 1091 00:43:21,658 --> 00:43:22,590 the Gospel. 1092 00:43:24,210 --> 00:43:28,170 Question that I want to pose to you today is, it's a basic question 1093 00:43:28,210 --> 00:43:29,130 for everyone in this room. 1094 00:43:29,170 --> 00:43:33,138 And I'm asking myself the same question, am I ready? 1095 00:43:33,234 --> 00:43:34,390 Are you ready? 1096 00:43:35,370 --> 00:43:39,310 The other question with that is, if the answer is yes, great, 1097 00:43:39,690 --> 00:43:43,618 start moving, Start preaching, start living. 1098 00:43:43,794 --> 00:43:48,370 But the other answer, maybe you say, no, I'm not ready. 1099 00:43:48,530 --> 00:43:49,954 Then the question would be this. 1100 00:43:50,042 --> 00:43:51,630 What do you need to do? 1101 00:43:52,010 --> 00:43:53,794 What do you need to trust in? 1102 00:43:53,962 --> 00:43:55,554 What do you need to change? 1103 00:43:55,722 --> 00:43:58,482 What do you need to get rid of in your life so that you can say, 1104 00:43:58,506 --> 00:44:00,844 I'm ready for whatever God has me to do. 1105 00:44:00,932 --> 00:44:03,756 God is not calling everyone to preach from this pulpit. 1106 00:44:03,948 --> 00:44:06,764 God is not calling everyone to be an evangelist. 1107 00:44:06,812 --> 00:44:09,020 God is not calling everyone to. 1108 00:44:09,060 --> 00:44:12,524 To be an apologist where you can know all the ins and outs of 1109 00:44:12,532 --> 00:44:13,548 the history of the church. 1110 00:44:13,644 --> 00:44:16,572 God's not calling everyone to be everything, but he's calling you 1111 00:44:16,596 --> 00:44:18,652 to know where your ministry is in the Gospel. 1112 00:44:18,796 --> 00:44:22,092 Every believer that is sitting here today, every believer that is 1113 00:44:22,116 --> 00:44:25,620 watching online, has a gospel ministry. 1114 00:44:25,740 --> 00:44:27,396 The Bible very clearly says that. 1115 00:44:27,468 --> 00:44:30,020 And the question would be is where is your gospel ministry within 1116 00:44:30,060 --> 00:44:32,532 the church and within your community around you? 1117 00:44:32,716 --> 00:44:34,644 Folks, we want to impact the world. 1118 00:44:34,812 --> 00:44:36,836 Maybe, maybe you've never thought about that. 1119 00:44:36,908 --> 00:44:40,004 The Bible says that early on in the church that there was a small 1120 00:44:40,092 --> 00:44:43,252 group of people, a small group of disciples. 1121 00:44:43,396 --> 00:44:46,160 The Bible says that they turn the world upside down. 1122 00:44:46,460 --> 00:44:47,588 Just that small group. 1123 00:44:47,644 --> 00:44:49,156 How do they Turn the world upside down. 1124 00:44:49,228 --> 00:44:51,146 Well, they had a lot of resources at hand. 1125 00:44:51,268 --> 00:44:52,334 They had a lot of money. 1126 00:44:52,422 --> 00:44:53,050 No. 1127 00:44:53,430 --> 00:44:55,166 They had the government behind them. 1128 00:44:55,318 --> 00:44:56,010 No. 1129 00:44:56,630 --> 00:44:59,598 How did those individuals turn the world upside down? 1130 00:44:59,654 --> 00:45:01,070 They preached the gospel. 1131 00:45:01,230 --> 00:45:02,590 They lived differently. 1132 00:45:02,750 --> 00:45:04,370 They truly believed. 1133 00:45:04,710 --> 00:45:05,358 They. 1134 00:45:05,494 --> 00:45:08,446 They gave away what they had for the cause of the gospel. 1135 00:45:08,558 --> 00:45:13,070 They left their comfort zone and they went to a place of danger, 1136 00:45:13,230 --> 00:45:15,342 of difference, of stretching them. 1137 00:45:15,366 --> 00:45:17,956 And so this morning, are we willing to say that, you know what? 1138 00:45:18,078 --> 00:45:22,120 As a church and as an individual, I'm ready to do my best 1139 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:24,376 to turn this world upside down for the gospel. 1140 00:45:24,568 --> 00:45:28,472 Think about it in this room, think about how many people can be 1141 00:45:28,496 --> 00:45:29,080 one to Christ. 1142 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:32,472 If all of us got serious about that, think about how that would 1143 00:45:32,496 --> 00:45:33,976 be amazing in our communities. 1144 00:45:34,088 --> 00:45:37,464 Think about how that would be amazing within the world today. 1145 00:45:37,552 --> 00:45:39,192 Then if all Christians just said, you know what? 1146 00:45:39,216 --> 00:45:39,720 I'm ready. 1147 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:41,880 I'm done trying to serve everything else. 1148 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:42,856 I'm ready to go. 1149 00:45:42,928 --> 00:45:45,778 And so this morning, if there is something in the way, if there's 1150 00:45:45,794 --> 00:45:49,682 a distraction, maybe you say, I just don't know the Bible well 1151 00:45:49,706 --> 00:45:49,890 enough. 1152 00:45:49,930 --> 00:45:51,826 I don't even know what I believe, Folks. 1153 00:45:51,938 --> 00:45:52,626 Dig deeper. 1154 00:45:52,658 --> 00:45:54,098 There's something called the Romans Road. 1155 00:45:54,154 --> 00:45:57,010 We're going to go through it here in this, in this book. 1156 00:45:57,130 --> 00:45:59,570 A very simple path to explaining to people what it means 1157 00:45:59,610 --> 00:46:02,210 to know Jesus as their savior again. 1158 00:46:02,250 --> 00:46:04,226 You don't have to have the whole Bible memorized. 1159 00:46:04,418 --> 00:46:06,194 There's so many things today with. 1160 00:46:06,282 --> 00:46:10,066 With the advent of technology that you can walk through with individuals. 1161 00:46:10,098 --> 00:46:12,482 There's tracks in the back if you're not into smartphones, but 1162 00:46:12,506 --> 00:46:15,030 there's so much today at our fingertips. 1163 00:46:15,110 --> 00:46:17,238 Let's use it for the gospel. 1164 00:46:17,414 --> 00:46:20,566 Let's use it for the purpose of winning souls to Christ. 1165 00:46:20,718 --> 00:46:21,878 That's the purpose. 1166 00:46:21,974 --> 00:46:24,450 And then from there on, we say, you know what? 1167 00:46:25,470 --> 00:46:27,638 I'm willing to stay with them. 1168 00:46:27,694 --> 00:46:29,382 I'm willing to fellowship with them. 1169 00:46:29,566 --> 00:46:32,262 How much of a tragedy is it that we have people come through 1170 00:46:32,286 --> 00:46:34,982 these doors and trust in Jesus Christ as savior, and then we just 1171 00:46:35,006 --> 00:46:36,770 expect them to figure it out? 1172 00:46:37,950 --> 00:46:40,994 You know, we've got some kids in the room today, and so we know 1173 00:46:41,002 --> 00:46:42,510 we've got a lot of parents in the room. 1174 00:46:42,890 --> 00:46:46,050 When you had a little child, baby, let's say, I'll use. 1175 00:46:46,090 --> 00:46:47,026 I'll use my own children. 1176 00:46:47,098 --> 00:46:48,210 As an example. 1177 00:46:48,370 --> 00:46:52,910 When Silas, he's 15 months old, we don't look at Silas and go, 1178 00:46:53,530 --> 00:46:56,150 why aren't you acting like your older brother? 1179 00:46:57,370 --> 00:46:59,310 His older brother's nine years old. 1180 00:46:59,610 --> 00:47:02,642 You start, silas, you need to order food at the restaurant yourself. 1181 00:47:02,786 --> 00:47:04,626 Okay, we're not going to be ordering for you anymore. 1182 00:47:04,658 --> 00:47:05,562 You're a big boy. 1183 00:47:05,666 --> 00:47:06,442 No, we don't do that. 1184 00:47:06,466 --> 00:47:06,794 Why? 1185 00:47:06,882 --> 00:47:07,754 Because he's. 1186 00:47:07,802 --> 00:47:11,530 He's at that maturity level where he can't do certain things. 1187 00:47:11,650 --> 00:47:13,962 And we don't expect him to do something that he's not capable of 1188 00:47:13,986 --> 00:47:14,266 doing. 1189 00:47:14,338 --> 00:47:17,002 We walk alongside him and train him so that one day he will 1190 00:47:17,026 --> 00:47:19,930 be like his older brother and then he'll have more independence. 1191 00:47:20,090 --> 00:47:21,882 And that's sometimes what we happen within the church. 1192 00:47:21,946 --> 00:47:24,122 Someone comes forward and gets saved and we go, all right, now why 1193 00:47:24,146 --> 00:47:25,370 aren't you serving and preaching in. 1194 00:47:25,410 --> 00:47:26,618 In 20 different ministries? 1195 00:47:26,714 --> 00:47:27,530 Why don't you have this? 1196 00:47:27,570 --> 00:47:28,378 Why don't you have that? 1197 00:47:28,434 --> 00:47:28,698 Why? 1198 00:47:28,754 --> 00:47:30,970 Why didn't you know that saying that word is a wrong word? 1199 00:47:31,050 --> 00:47:34,714 Instead of questioning them and looking down upon them, let's, 1200 00:47:34,762 --> 00:47:37,802 as the church, come alongside and say, hey, let me show you what 1201 00:47:37,826 --> 00:47:38,954 it means to trust in Jesus. 1202 00:47:39,002 --> 00:47:40,762 Let me show you what it means to serve Jesus. 1203 00:47:40,826 --> 00:47:42,810 Let me show you what it means to study the word of God. 1204 00:47:42,890 --> 00:47:44,510 That's called discipleship. 1205 00:47:44,850 --> 00:47:48,042 And so, yeah, if there's a person that's saved 50 years, we 1206 00:47:48,066 --> 00:47:50,170 expect them to be at a certain place in their life. 1207 00:47:50,290 --> 00:47:52,842 But if there's someone that's newly saved within our church, we 1208 00:47:52,866 --> 00:47:57,226 take it upon ourselves to say we are the conduits of understanding 1209 00:47:57,258 --> 00:47:57,930 who Jesus is. 1210 00:47:57,970 --> 00:48:01,062 And so therefore, we point him or her to scripture. 1211 00:48:01,126 --> 00:48:05,174 We point him or her to serve alongside of us, to be the example 1212 00:48:05,302 --> 00:48:06,758 for the truth of Jesus Christ. 1213 00:48:06,814 --> 00:48:10,294 And so, with all that being said, next week we're going to look 1214 00:48:10,302 --> 00:48:11,334 at verse number 16. 1215 00:48:11,422 --> 00:48:16,886 Because one of the reasons why many folks are not ready to preach 1216 00:48:16,918 --> 00:48:21,046 the gospel of Jesus Christ is because they are ashamed of the gospel 1217 00:48:21,078 --> 00:48:21,990 of Jesus Christ. 1218 00:48:22,110 --> 00:48:24,752 There's fear, there's apprehension. 1219 00:48:24,926 --> 00:48:29,452 And so Paul in the next verse says, for I am not ashamed of the 1220 00:48:29,476 --> 00:48:30,556 Gospel of Christ. 1221 00:48:30,708 --> 00:48:33,116 Next week we're going to dive deeper into that message that we're 1222 00:48:33,148 --> 00:48:33,772 preaching. 1223 00:48:33,916 --> 00:48:38,732 How we can live boldly for the gospel and not be afraid of the outcome 1224 00:48:38,796 --> 00:48:42,200 of the proclamation of the truth of who Jesus Christ is. 1225 00:48:42,900 --> 00:48:48,480 Folks, we are living in days that very clearly are evil. 1226 00:48:48,820 --> 00:48:52,052 The Bible says, redeem the time, buy back the time, because 1227 00:48:52,076 --> 00:48:53,320 the days are evil. 1228 00:48:53,900 --> 00:48:58,680 We live no longer in a society that is pro gospel. 1229 00:48:59,580 --> 00:49:05,000 We live in a society that is pro self, pro flesh, pro sin. 1230 00:49:05,660 --> 00:49:09,396 And what sometimes we can say is this, you know what the gospel 1231 00:49:09,428 --> 00:49:10,196 isn't. 1232 00:49:10,388 --> 00:49:12,308 Gospel isn't what it used to be. 1233 00:49:12,444 --> 00:49:13,620 Maybe we wouldn't say that. 1234 00:49:13,660 --> 00:49:16,196 We would say there was a day in our community back in the 50s 1235 00:49:16,228 --> 00:49:19,014 and the 60s, that there were some people that just, you know, 1236 00:49:19,022 --> 00:49:19,190 they. 1237 00:49:19,230 --> 00:49:20,358 They just came to Christ and. 1238 00:49:20,414 --> 00:49:22,150 And they knew what it meant to be a Christian. 1239 00:49:22,230 --> 00:49:24,726 You know, what the truth is, is, yeah, there was a time in America 1240 00:49:24,758 --> 00:49:28,534 when it was more culturally accepted to be a good person. 1241 00:49:28,622 --> 00:49:30,950 Christ, like, so to speak, a churchgoer. 1242 00:49:31,110 --> 00:49:35,062 We live in a time where church isn't just an accepted norm, but 1243 00:49:35,086 --> 00:49:36,998 the gospel is still powerful. 1244 00:49:37,174 --> 00:49:39,990 The same gospel that was changing people's lives 50 years 1245 00:49:40,030 --> 00:49:43,622 ago, 500 years ago, is the same gospel message that we have 1246 00:49:43,646 --> 00:49:44,160 today. 1247 00:49:44,310 --> 00:49:47,612 And some of you in this room, all of you that are believers in 1248 00:49:47,636 --> 00:49:51,196 this room, are a product of the power of the gospel and ultimately 1249 00:49:51,228 --> 00:49:52,444 the indwelling of the spirit. 1250 00:49:52,492 --> 00:49:53,692 And that's what we're preaching. 1251 00:49:53,756 --> 00:49:55,772 And so we're going to talk more about that next week, how we 1252 00:49:55,796 --> 00:49:58,332 can live boldly for the cause of the gospel. 1253 00:49:58,396 --> 00:50:00,236 And really, what is the power of the gospel? 1254 00:50:00,268 --> 00:50:01,548 We're going to talk about that next week. 1255 00:50:01,604 --> 00:50:05,868 So I'd encourage you to come back here to Middletown Baptist Church. 1256 00:50:05,884 --> 00:50:07,772 I'm going to ask all of you if you're able to just stand with me, 1257 00:50:07,796 --> 00:50:10,460 every head bowed, every eye closed as the music plays today, 1258 00:50:10,500 --> 00:50:14,960 I have just one, one question for you. 1259 00:50:15,820 --> 00:50:17,280 The question is this. 1260 00:50:17,580 --> 00:50:18,760 Are you ready? 1261 00:50:19,340 --> 00:50:22,036 Are you ready to do what God has called you to do by proclaiming 1262 00:50:22,068 --> 00:50:27,332 the gospel to all around you, not every single person that comes 1263 00:50:27,356 --> 00:50:28,240 up to you. 1264 00:50:28,540 --> 00:50:31,636 They might not be ready to hear the gospel, but when God opens 1265 00:50:31,668 --> 00:50:35,188 that door, am I ready to live that gospel in front of somebody 1266 00:50:35,204 --> 00:50:35,636 else? 1267 00:50:35,748 --> 00:50:38,324 Or am I so distracted with the things of this world that I'm not 1268 00:50:38,332 --> 00:50:38,894 ready? 1269 00:50:39,052 --> 00:50:40,794 There's a couple reasons why you're not ready. 1270 00:50:40,842 --> 00:50:42,682 There's a couple reasons why I might not be ready. 1271 00:50:42,746 --> 00:50:43,946 The first reason is this. 1272 00:50:44,018 --> 00:50:47,082 You're not ready because you might not know Jesus Christ as your 1273 00:50:47,106 --> 00:50:47,354 savior. 1274 00:50:47,402 --> 00:50:49,658 You can't point someone to Jesus if you don't know Jesus. 1275 00:50:49,754 --> 00:50:54,730 The Bible very clearly says it is by God's grace that we are saved 1276 00:50:54,810 --> 00:50:56,954 through faith and that not of ourselves. 1277 00:50:57,082 --> 00:50:58,986 It is a gift of God, not of works. 1278 00:50:59,018 --> 00:51:02,170 Lest any man should boast, the Bible says that salvation is not 1279 00:51:02,210 --> 00:51:02,890 by works. 1280 00:51:02,970 --> 00:51:04,474 It's not by my church attendance. 1281 00:51:04,522 --> 00:51:06,558 It's not by my good deeds. 1282 00:51:06,654 --> 00:51:11,390 The only way that we could come to Christ and know him and have 1283 00:51:11,430 --> 00:51:14,334 forgiveness in him is by putting our full faith and trust 1284 00:51:14,382 --> 00:51:17,614 in his work on the cross, his victory over death, and saying, lord, 1285 00:51:17,662 --> 00:51:19,170 save me from my sins. 1286 00:51:19,590 --> 00:51:23,210 Faith, trust in him. 1287 00:51:23,590 --> 00:51:25,726 If you haven't trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior. 1288 00:51:25,758 --> 00:51:26,510 Do it today. 1289 00:51:26,630 --> 00:51:27,582 Trust in Him. 1290 00:51:27,686 --> 00:51:29,850 Know that you have everlasting life. 1291 00:51:30,630 --> 00:51:33,690 The Bible says, for God so loved the world that he gave his 1292 00:51:33,730 --> 00:51:34,714 only begotten Son. 1293 00:51:34,762 --> 00:51:41,818 That's Jesus that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 1294 00:51:41,994 --> 00:51:45,242 should not die, should not be separated from him, but have everlasting 1295 00:51:45,306 --> 00:51:45,674 life. 1296 00:51:45,762 --> 00:51:48,830 It is through Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. 1297 00:51:49,170 --> 00:51:51,674 But maybe you've trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but 1298 00:51:51,682 --> 00:51:52,522 you have said, you know what? 1299 00:51:52,546 --> 00:51:53,930 I have so much going on in my life. 1300 00:51:53,970 --> 00:51:56,762 I'm not ready to have that life of Christian fellowship. 1301 00:51:56,826 --> 00:51:59,690 I'm not ready for to be the one who's proclaiming the Gospel. 1302 00:51:59,770 --> 00:52:02,106 I'm so caught up in my own struggles. 1303 00:52:02,218 --> 00:52:05,418 I'm so caught up in my own distractions that I'm not even able 1304 00:52:05,474 --> 00:52:06,762 to do what God has called me to do. 1305 00:52:06,786 --> 00:52:08,138 Hey, get that right today. 1306 00:52:08,274 --> 00:52:11,770 Come to him in faith and say, lord, clean me up, change me, get 1307 00:52:11,810 --> 00:52:16,234 me to a place of desiring you more and more so that we can proclaim 1308 00:52:16,282 --> 00:52:19,706 the message so that all of us are ready to preach the word to those 1309 00:52:19,778 --> 00:52:21,386 in need of the Gospel. 1310 00:52:21,578 --> 00:52:23,690 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1311 00:52:23,730 --> 00:52:24,762 hearts and lives. 1312 00:52:24,946 --> 00:52:26,810 Thank you for what you have done for us. 1313 00:52:26,930 --> 00:52:29,242 Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your work. 1314 00:52:29,346 --> 00:52:30,842 We ask all these things in Jesus name. 1315 00:52:30,866 --> 00:52:31,178 Amen. 1316 00:52:31,194 --> 00:52:33,750 As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads here this morning. 1317 00:53:57,120 --> 00:53:59,752 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1318 00:53:59,816 --> 00:54:00,504 Podcast. 1319 00:54:00,632 --> 00:54:03,220 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1320 00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:05,896 You would like to find out more information about our church 1321 00:54:05,928 --> 00:54:06,504 or this sermon? 1322 00:54:06,552 --> 00:54:06,741 You can. 1323 00:54:06,748 --> 00:54:10,562 You can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find 1324 00:54:10,586 --> 00:54:12,470 us on Facebook or YouTube. 1325 00:54:12,890 --> 00:54:17,426 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1326 00:54:17,458 --> 00:54:20,194 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 1327 00:54:20,322 --> 00:54:24,950 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1328 00:54:25,290 --> 00:54:26,450 Thank you so much. 1329 00:54:26,570 --> 00:54:27,394 God Bless. 1330 00:54:27,522 --> 00:54:28,570 Have a wonderful day.