The Shocking Gospel Truth: What I Truly "Lost" When Saved (Christian Testimony & Sermon)

[0:00] The gospel and what I lost when I got saved. When you think sometimes people say to become a Christian is very costly.

[0:11] ! I'm going to lose so much. I'll have to give up so much. And they kind of look at it on that way as a kind of way that why I'm not a Christian because there's so much I've got to give up to become a Christian.

[0:23] I want to share with you what I lost when I became a Christian and what the gospel means to me. And for all of us what the gospel means. So we're going to go to Luke 4 and from verse 14 and we're going to concentrate on one of the verses which is Luke 4 verse 18.

[0:40] But starting from Luke 4 from verse 14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. They went out of fame of him through all the region round about.

[0:53] And he taught in their synagogues being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as his custom was he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.

[1:07] And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he had anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

[1:21] He had sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering a sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

[1:34] And he closed the book and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

[1:49] And all bear him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? So for tonight, just focusing on Luke 4 verse 18.

[2:02] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he had anointed me to preach the gospel. The gospel means glad tidings, good news. And here in a nutshell is the gospel and who it's for.

[2:16] It also reminds me of what I lost when I got saved and what Christ gave instead. And Jesus says he has come to preach the gospel.

[2:26] Look at who the gospel is for. Firstly, we see the beggar. We see that he has come to preach the gospel to the poor. You could put it the helpless, the down and out.

[2:37] And what does he give in exchange? He offers his riches. Look at it. Our Lord is anointed. Why? To preach the gospel. You could put the gospel. It means good news. It's got this word evangelize, evangelism.

[2:51] It's all the evangel, the gospel. And when you look at evangel, the gospel, shorten it a bit more. And it's angel. It's a messenger. It's a message of good news. The evangel, if meaning good and angelos meaning a message.

[3:08] So a good message, a good news. And Jesus is the ultimate good messenger, isn't he? And every one of us, when we evangelize, you're angels. Your messenger's going out.

[3:18] As you see your map there, I see where you go out and do some tracting or whether it be through other ministries of your church. I know it's great to hear your activities here for the young adults, the young people, the children's club and all the opportunities you have to take the gospel.

[3:34] And so just to think of it, we're angels in a sense. We're messengers of that glorious good news. We're good news messengers. And he says, I've come to preach the gospel, to minister that message, the good news message.

[3:49] And you think of the gospel, really it's positive news, isn't it? In a world, you think of the world we live in, you tune into the news and it's mostly what kind of news? Bad news. But this is good news.

[4:00] It's the gospel news. And it's something you don't hear about much in the media. The gospel is not gloomy news. It's not bad news. It's not fake news.

[4:11] But it's good, good news, glad news, the greatest news. And just look at what it means. You see through this verse that we're just going to home in on. You see what the gospel means.

[4:22] It means captives, loosed. It means blind people seeing again. It means helpless ones free from suffering. It means chains falling off and eyes opening wide, broken lives made whole.

[4:35] This is gospel power. So firstly, we see the gospel, the good news. Our Lord comes to the beggar. He offers his gospel to the poor. He freely offers his riches to the spiritually poor, the poor in spirit.

[4:50] And he sees our poverty. Now, we're not really speaking of material, actual economic prosperity, but more spiritual prosperity. He sees our great need, our great lack, our great poverty.

[5:03] How truly bankrupt we are without our Savior, aren't we? Without him, we're the poorest of the poor. And he knows our greatest need and the heavy burden of debt that we owe, ultimately the debt to him.

[5:16] A debt that we can never repay. And you think of the gospel, good news, that it's for our sakes that he became poor. For you know the grace of our Lord.

[5:28] This is 2 Corinthians 8, 9. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. That you through his poverty might be rich.

[5:40] Consider how we are, really. We're poverty stricken, aren't we? Without our Savior. And he came down from heaven's height to leave the glories of heaven to come and to give us the riches of heaven.

[5:53] The riches of his grace. Think of the mercy and grace of God, his compassion. You could think of examples of a secular kind. For example, there was a mayor in New York.

[6:04] And one time this mayor had charge of the night court in the poorest district of the city. And it was known, this place, for the harsh judge who normally presided.

[6:17] And this elderly woman came and she was standing before the judge. And she'd been caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. And Lagardia, this stand-in judge, he'd just find her $10 or 10 days in jail, knowing that she couldn't pay.

[6:33] And then he then paid her fine himself by throwing $10 into his hat. And he fined everyone in the room, the courtroom, 50 cents, for living in a city where such desperation existed.

[6:45] And the woman left that courtroom with her fine paid and an extra $47. Out of the goodness of his heart, the mayor of New York had paid her fine.

[6:56] And she couldn't help herself. He helped her. And he gave her the opportunity to pay off her debts and start all over. Which kind of judge would you rather have? Someone who was more the usual kind of judge who was a bit harsh and hardline?

[7:11] Or the one that actually he fined you, which was your just punishment, but he paid the fine for you? And that's such a picture of what our Lord did, isn't it?

[7:22] If a flawed earthly judge can be so kind and show such mercy, how much more? Our Heavenly Father, as the mighty righteous judge of all the earth, he cancels our debt and he pays for our fine, our debt with his own blood.

[7:39] He sees our poverty, doesn't he? Think of it when you really, before you're saved, how poverty stricken we truly are. And yet God shows his mercy. He'd rather pardon a sinner than condemn him.

[7:52] We think how really God is rich in mercy, isn't he? Ephesians 2 verse 4. How he is so rich, so generous, so freely giving.

[8:02] There's over 200 Bible verses apparently that tell of God's merciful and kind nature. How kind, how loving, kind our God is. And the gospel is not only for the poor, but it is also, we'll go further, that there's more.

[8:19] Yet there's more. And I think, as I kind of reflect again on this theme of what I lost when I became a Christian, I was spiritually poor. I had nothing to bring, nothing to give him.

[8:31] And now I'm made rich, spiritually rich. You think of the gospel, it's for the poor in spirit, isn't it? He meets our deepest need. The one who's got the riches of glory, the riches of his grace, and he bestows it upon us.

[8:46] So the gospel is for the poor. Notice secondly that the gospel is also for the brokenhearted. Notice how he rebuilds lives that are broken, shattered lives.

[8:58] It tells how he sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Now it's interesting, that's missing from some Bibles. I think that's a great fault. But the word of God that we trust, the word of God tells us that he came to heal the brokenhearted.

[9:15] It's a very important verse, isn't it? That he's come to heal those that are broken, to make them whole. The brokenhearted, you could see it as speaking of the crushed and the shattered.

[9:25] But think of the brokenness of sin, the misery of sin, that prison house of sin, the brokenheartedness that is sin. And it tells here of God's work of restoration that he brings us back to true wholeness.

[9:39] He makes us whole again. He takes all the broken pieces of our heart, doesn't he? Of our lives. And he makes us complete. That's our great savior. As he rebuilds those lives, as he cares for the brokenhearted.

[9:52] Think of it. Those that he reaches out to, those that are in distress. We think of life's hardships, of afflictions, of difficulties. And still we'll have them. But he helps us in those moments when we're feeling brokenhearted.

[10:05] And he reaches those people that are in bereavement, in the brokenness of life, of pain, of sin. For people suffering, he's the great healer. And he comes to us in those times of brokenness in our lives, when we have those times of tragedy, of suffering, times of loss.

[10:23] Where is he? He's walking with us. He's walking with you. As we know the great trust that we have in the Lord is my shepherd, that he walks with us, doesn't he? He walks with you through those valleys of your life, even in the valley of the shadow of death, that he is with me.

[10:40] He is with me. And he calls to you and he says, fear not. He says, fear not. I am with thee. Be not dismayed. For I am thy God. He's got that closeness that he's right alongside us.

[10:50] He doesn't leave us alone in those valleys. And he mends the broken. And he surely cares for you. He cares for you. And we can say, surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

[11:02] As we think of him, he heals the brokenhearted. And maybe in those moments of your life, you can think, yes, he was there healing me, helping me through. You think of him there in that cup of the bitter cup of death, of grief, that he reached out in the garden for us.

[11:22] In our times of disappointment, he's borne our griefs. He's carried our sorrows. The bitter cup, he drank all of it in the garden. He bears our shame. And he carries our burdens.

[11:33] Brothers, sisters, friends tonight, we can have that comfort. The weary soul, the discouraged, confined his closeness and his healing. And he cares for the aching, breaking heart.

[11:44] If you've got sorrows or griefs, he's there for you. And he never leaves you nor forsakes you. And as believers, we can know his presence. He's right there with you through whatever valley you're going through.

[11:54] And those griefs and sorrows, he's carried them already. He says that he's carried those griefs. He's carried those sorrows. We think of even the cup of death itself, of grief.

[12:05] He reaches out to us in our disappointments. And he loves us so. And he bore our shame. He carries our burden. Think of the comfort of this great saviour. And he comforts the distressed.

[12:18] He knows your discouragement, those times that you go through, those times of need. And the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted can find that balm of Gilead that is our Lord.

[12:29] The healing of our heart, our deepest hurts. He knows you right through and through. And friends, tonight there is hope for the broken. So never feel like God's abandoned you through such times of difficulty.

[12:43] I love this poem that someone has penned. It's a famous preacher called Vance Hafner. He says this, God uses broken things. God uses broken things.

[12:56] Broken soil to produce a crop. Broken clouds to give rain. Broken grain to give bread. Broken bread to give strength. It's the broken alabaster box that gives forth the perfume.

[13:10] It is Peter weeping bitterly who returns to greater power than ever. God uses broken things, doesn't he? Even those broken times of our lives, we can look back and know that he was there all the way through.

[13:22] God does not discard the broken. He delights to use the broken. In those times when it seemed like everything was going wrong, even in those times, he's right there.

[13:32] He does not abandon us. And he wants to wipe away all tears from our eyes. One day he will. He wants to heal our broken hearts. And he promises to. So friends, tonight the gospel is for the poor.

[13:45] He comes to the poor. The poor in spirit. And he gives them true wealth. True and lasting riches. The beggars, as it were. And he heals the brokenhearted. The brokenhearted, what does he do?

[13:57] He makes them whole. He makes us truly whole. Then he comes to the bound. We think of the bound. The captives. Our Lord has come. And he tells, he's come to preach deliverance to the captives.

[14:08] This word deliverance, it could mean like forgiveness of liberty, of release, of freedom to the captives. You could even think of it as prisoners, even prisoners of war.

[14:20] He preaches deliverance to the captives. Can you imagine being a POW, a prisoner of war, to be held captive, to be held in bondage, to be held in chains, in the dungeon of darkness.

[14:33] Christ has come, he says, to set people free from the bondage. Think of what is the ultimate bondage, the slavery, the enslavement of sin and guilt, the captivity that it is to be without Christ.

[14:46] We are held captive to the great tormentor, aren't we? And yet our Lord comes and he breaks the chains of sin. You know, he tells us, he says, he has come.

[14:57] He says, to set the captives free. He says, if therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Free indeed. Think of it, how he sets us free.

[15:09] Gives us true freedom. What does he do? He takes the devil's chains and he smashes them and breaks them. He tears apart the prison doors. He tears off the shackles and we're set truly free.

[15:21] Think of the forgiveness and release that we have when we get saved. Some time ago, I used to edit a little Christian magazine and there was one time a man wrote to me personally.

[15:33] And he wrote to me from behind the bars of a prison. He wrote to me from his prison cell and I got the words that he wrote to me those years ago. The words that he wrote personally to me.

[15:45] And he said this, iron bars do not a prison make. Where did you wake up this morning? I woke up in a prison cell and before I had time to feel sorry for myself, I found myself praising the Lord.

[16:00] At first glance, one would think there would be not much to praise the Lord about in prison. The fact that I am in prison only means that my freedom has been taken away from me.

[16:11] There are lots of different types of prisons beside the physical ones with bars and razor wire. Many people are prisoners in their own right without even knowing it. Take, for example, people who are blind.

[16:24] They are prisoners in their own dark world, devoid of any color. I thank God that I can see and see the beauty of what he's provided as I look out through my cell window.

[16:35] Many people are prisoners of their mind in that they have mental illness. I praise God that I'm not a prisoner of my own mind and that I can enjoy life such as it is. Many people have physical afflictions which keeps them prisoners in a wheelchair through lack of mobility.

[16:51] I thank the Lord that I still have the function of all my limbs and that I can get around unaided. Many people are prisoners in their own homes. I thank the Lord that I'm still able to go out and do a hard day's work and meet and talk to people.

[17:05] Finally, many people are prisoners of Satan because they follow him and not the Lord. I thank the Lord because I did wake up in a prison cell. And the fact, even though I am in a prison, he is only a prayer away.

[17:20] Now, this prisoner could still find reason for praise. And surely he has come, our Savior, to preach deliverance to the captives. Deliverance. Consider the prison of sin.

[17:33] That prison house of sin. We think of our Lord that he has come, as it tells us in 2 Timothy 2.26. He's come to those people held captive by the snare of the devil.

[17:45] The devil is like, as it tells of a fowler, of a bird catcher, that he wants to catch us in his trap. And some are trapped in the way of guilt, of addictions, of sinful desires.

[17:58] They feel trapped, chained in some dark dungeon of sin and shame. And it seems like there's no way of escape. No hope from escaping that prison house of sin.

[18:11] And they feel powerless, overcome by their captor. It's hard to escape from under the control of Satan. And some would even cherish their chains.

[18:23] They don't realize that they're a prisoner. And they might feel like they're just doing what they want to do. But actually they are held captive. They might even cherish their chains and think there's something good about those things that control them.

[18:36] Not even realizing their dread condition. Yet, friends, tonight the Lord Jesus has come to those that are bound and held captive. And he offers true deliverance and a complete release.

[18:50] Think of salvation. It's the ultimate release and deliverance, isn't it? And deliverance, it means release. A total cancellation of all debt. It was complete.

[19:01] For you that have trusted him, that salvation has covered all of our debt. Think of God's great love. That he reaches out in love to us.

[19:12] And we don't always conceive of the greatness of his love. There was a time there was a poor woman from London slums. And she'd never seen the ocean before. And when she saw it for the first time, she wept.

[19:24] Because she said, it's the only thing I've ever seen that there was enough of. Think of the ocean of God's great love. That God's love is so expansive, isn't it? So fulsome that we can never exhaust his love.

[19:37] God's mercy is like an ocean. It's vast enough to cover all of our sin. Grace that is greater than all our sin. We think it extends to all who seek it. God's great love is for you.

[19:50] And it's shown through our Lord's sacrifice. Yet many remain oblivious. And they're held captive. They're in this prison cell, as it were, behind bars. But not realizing that they're captives.

[20:03] Friends, tonight our Lord has come. And his gospel, this good news, is for the beggars. It's for the brokenhearted. It's for the bound.

[20:14] And he truly sets us free. And he comes to the blind. We see it tells of a recovering of sight to the blind. The blind. He restores sight for the blind.

[20:27] You think of outside of Christ, we're absolutely blind. Our Lord brings light to those in darkness. Many grope and stumble on in the spiritual blindness that shrouds them.

[20:39] It blocks their faith. Unable to see true. Trapped in this blindness of unbelief. And it tells of them in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, Of the God, small g, the devil of this world, In whom the lost, in whom the God of this world, Hath blinded the minds of them, Which believe not, Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Should shine unto them.

[21:06] Many are struggling in this blindness, This darkness, this awful darkness. Many have never seen the light. They don't realize. They don't even realize that they're blind. What a tragedy.

[21:17] And yet the gospel is one that brings that enlightenment. As it tells in Acts 26, Paul talks about how Christ has come to open their eyes And to turn them from darkness to light.

[21:33] And from the power of Satan unto God. What a transformation. Are you stumbling through life without seeing the truth? Maybe you don't even realize that you're in that darkness of unbelief.

[21:44] And we think of loved ones, We know they're in that darkness of unbelief. Don't we want to give them that gospel light? Christ offers sight that we might truly see.

[21:55] To truly see. Our Lord comes also to the bruised. And He relieves the oppressed. He says He's come to set at liberty them that are bruised. So in other words, To set them at liberty.

[22:07] To deliver them. To release them. To set them free. Them that are bruised. You could put it. The oppressed. The crushed. The downtrodden. Satan loves to bruise people.

[22:19] To keep them in that state of being crushed. Of downtrodden. And we see the gospel power to uplift. The relieving power of the gospel. When you think of the gospel, Really, The gospel is the greatest pain reliever, Isn't it?

[22:32] It brings that sure pain relief. To set them at liberty. True freedom. Won't you come unto Him? He tells that, All that the Father giveth me, Shall come to me.

[22:45] And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. He promises for you that will come unto Him, That He will receive you. He will not turn you away. And you think of the gospel power again.

[22:58] Our Lord comes to heal the hurting. He comes to the bruised. He frees those that are torn and hurting And damaged and suffering. He reaches out to the forgotten, The neglected, The downtrodden.

[23:10] Those who cannot help themselves. Now some people think there's a Bible verse That says, God helps those who help themselves. Actually it's wrong. If there was such a Bible verse, It would be more, God helps those who cannot help themselves.

[23:24] Wouldn't it be true? That God helps those who cannot help themselves. We can't get out of this prison. We can't get out of this blindness, Out of this misery of sin.

[23:35] But He's the one who can set the captives free. The outcasts, the rejects, Think of those that He loves. It tells He healeth the broken in heart, And He bindeth up their wounds.

[23:47] You know, if you're feeling like there is no hope, There is hope. There's hope in Christ. And He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.

[23:57] With His stripes, we are healed. Then we think about the gospel power. I know we've got that map on the wall there, Of the souls, Representing the souls of this city, And of your heart to reach them.

[24:09] God bless you for that. It's so good. I know you've got tracks there to pass out. There's so many ways we can share this gospel, Isn't there? By giving out tracks, By sharing a word to testify, To tell others of the Saviour.

[24:24] Think of the peril of the lost, Of the hopeless estate. It's a misery, isn't it? To not know the Saviour. And yet many are crushed. They're despairing, joyless, purposeless.

[24:36] Christ shares their pain. He's the one who heals the broken in heart. And He binds up their wounds. And He was bruised. Why? For their healing. For our healing. And the ultimate healing is to know Him.

[24:49] Him to know His life eternal. Think how He shed His blood. He offers His healing touch. To mend the wounded hearts of men. We think of the gospel. The good news. The glad news.

[25:01] And consider the call to the church. We're called to preach the gospel. We're called to be the gospelers. If you like. The evangelizers of the evangel. The ones who are called to give the gospel.

[25:11] To be the gospelers. You could put it. To take that gospel message. To be the ones. To be the angels. To take the message. As it were. That evangel. To take it to our world.

[25:23] And our Lord wants us to be. Those communicators of the gospel. Any way that we can. He shed His blood. And He offers His healing touch. To mend wounded hearts. And the call of the church.

[25:34] Is to take that gospel message. This very gospel. The gospel power. Is for us to take. This glad news. This greatest news. That man can ever know.

[25:45] To tell our world about it. Our city. Well what of the church then? Are we preaching the gospel? Do we care? To show God's love. To the hurting. How can we be a part.

[25:56] Of sharing that glad news? Do we love with Christ's love? Do we love with His. Extreme love? Do we have His grace? Or do we give up on people too easily?

[26:07] I know I can. Sometimes you can. Give up on people. And you think. Oh. I'm not going to. Put more time into that person. But truly. They're in that.

[26:18] State of not knowing the Savior. And we're the ones. Who meant to be the angels. Who meant to be the messengers. Of that glad message. Are we just a social club? A religious organization?

[26:30] Or are we truly. The church. Who meant to be that. Advancing army. To storm the gates of hell. To reach out. To the lost. To restore the wounded.

[26:40] The hurting. The lonely. And provide that shelter. As it were. Of that healing. To be communicators. To the lost.

[26:51] And we think of really. The great cost. Of the gospel. That God so loved the world. That He gave His only begotten Son. You could think of it. As some illustrated. There was some story.

[27:02] Of a drawbridge operator. Had this harrowing choice. As he had to lower the bridge. To let the train go through. And yet his son was trapped. In the gears. And he chose to sacrifice.

[27:12] His son. And the passengers just. Passed by. Oblivious. To his loss. We think. Of the sacrifice. Of God's only son. And yet humanity. Remains largely oblivious.

[27:23] Doesn't it? Almost unaware. Unaware of the peril. That they face. And the price paid. For their salvation. Think of the cross today. Of His suffering.

[27:34] Of His love. His great grace. He wants. Each one of us. To get a burden. For the gospel. To have that same burden. Think of. Our forebears. Of. Revivalists.

[27:45] Of reformers. Of. The men and women of God. Have gone to mission fronts. A man such as C.T. Star. He was a famous British missionary. But firstly.

[27:56] He was a cricketer. So he had pretty much everything. That he. Wanted. As far as worldly. Renowned. And he was a well-known cricketer. And yet he chose to.

[28:07] Rather. Have the burden for the gospel. That that motivated him. To leave all of that. The urgency. The boldness that he. Felt for evangelism. To take the gospel.

[28:18] And he wanted to take that gospel. To the very front lines. Of spiritual danger. To go to some. Really hostile. Field. To take the gospel. To rescue.

[28:30] Souls. To have a burden. And. Some of the things that he said. Are quite. Inspiring. One of the things he said. Was. Some want to live.

[28:41] Within the sound. Of church. Or chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop. Within. A yard of hell. May we be such a rescue shop. That we'll have that heart. The thing of souls to rescue.

[28:52] Of souls to save. Think of the perishing. Multitudes. Can we be that rescue shop. In this. Little part of. Of Australia. In this little. Community. To be that rescue shop.

[29:04] This is the rescue station. For this community. That that can be our philosophy. Of ministry. And I'm sure you've got that heart. To be that gospel oriented. Kind of church. That his mission.

[29:15] Will truly be our mission. Because it is. Isn't it? As he has been sent. To take the gospel. Likewise we. We're part of that same mission. That same missionary. Focus.

[29:26] That same gospel focus. If we could just have that same heart. That gospel heart. And what we do. And how we live. And at life's end. Really the ultimate question is.

[29:38] Won't be how much. Have you gotten. But how much have you given. Are we giving out the gospel. Do we care about the gospel. Not preaching morality. That saves.

[29:48] Or works. Or efforts of men. Because they do not save. But to preach the gospel. The soul saving gospel. The grace of God. To preach the wonderful salvation.

[29:58] That Christ extends. And to give the gospel. Give until it hurts. To reflect Christ's love. His suffering. His sacrifice. And it's the ultimate hope. For our world.

[30:09] Isn't it? For our city here. This town. Your community. Recognize. The helpless condition. Of lost souls. And how Christ can save. You can think.

[30:21] As we kind of recapping. Our verse there again. That he's come. To. Bring the gospel. To the beggar.

[30:32] To the broken hearted. To the bound. To the blind. To the bruised. And to the beggar. What does he bring? True riches.

[30:44] Not necessarily. Worldly prosperity. But the true wealth. Of knowing. The maker of heaven and earth. And to be. His child. That's true riches.

[30:55] Isn't it? To know him. He comes to the beggar. He comes to the broken hearted. Our lives broken. Shattered. And he rebuilds. He makes us whole. He makes the broken whole.

[31:08] He comes to the bound. What does he do? He releases the bound. He releases those in prison. He brings true freedom. He comes to the blind. What does he do? He restores our sight.

[31:20] We're so clouded. And lacking of sight. Of vision. And he comes. And he opens our eyes. To truly see. And then he comes to the bruised. What does he do? He relieves us.

[31:31] From our bruising. Brothers and sisters. Think tonight of the gospel. The gospel. Do we care about the gospel? Of course. First. Have we received it?

[31:42] That's critical. Naturally. That you yourself. Have received the gospel. That you know the saviour. You know Jesus. Saves. And he saves you. By faith. And then second.

[31:54] After we've received it. Do we give the gospel? Do we give it? Do we care enough to give it? Even though it might be. As we know. In the reality of life. Sometimes it's quite a difficult thing.

[32:04] It can be daunting. To open our mouth. To open these lips. And to communicate the gospel. When we know we might get a knock back. But the gospel is something we ought to give.

[32:15] To give it out. And we think. As the. The kind of question I started with. What I lost. When I got saved. That's so much to be thankful for.

[32:26] And so have you. Haven't you? To be thankful for. I was a beggar. Broken hearted. Bound. Blind. Bruised. And now. And for you too.

[32:39] We have. Been given. True riches. You're so wealthy. I like to kind of joke. With our church. And really. Every time I come to church. You know.

[32:49] I'm just so blessed. To be amongst you. To be. To be able to have an audience with you. Members of the royal family. You're important. You're more important. Than the. Than the faces.

[33:00] Down on the. The glossy magazines. At the shop. Of the royal family. And all their gossip. And everything. But I'm with the true royal family. Because you are sons and daughters. Of the living God.

[33:11] You know. You are. Royal. You're a royal priesthood. You're. Sons and daughters. Kings and priests. As it were. Of the king of kings. And the lord of lords. The royal family.

[33:21] The true royal family. So there's a real. There's a real wealth here. Amongst the most wealthiest people. In this community. Because you've got true riches. Amen. And. We've been given true riches.

[33:32] We've been redeemed from enslavement. Think of that. We could still be behind those bars. The real prison bars. Of. Of being in a lost condition. Now we're truly set free.

[33:44] Your life. You're no longer broken hearted. Because he's made you whole again. And he rebuilds our lives. Once broken. He's released you from bondage. Think of people.

[33:55] As we know. It can be a reflection. When people are enslaved. By addiction. And this and that. All kinds of bondages. But the ultimate bondage. Is to not be saved. Because they're held captive.

[34:07] And he's restored. Our sight. We can truly see. Our eyes have been made wide open. We can truly see. What matters in life. We can see the light. And he's relieved us.

[34:18] Hasn't he? From that oppression. That bruising. The devil wants to bruise people. And smash us. And crush us. And shatter us. Oppress us. But we've been set truly free. So think of it.

[34:30] Really the theme. Of thinking. What I lost. When I got saved. And for you. This can be. I'm sure. That it is for you too. Your testimony.

[34:41] Now. I am redeemed. Rebuilt. Released. Restored. Relieved. Don't we want to share that now? When we think. Of our neighbours.

[34:51] Who don't know the saviour. Of the people. In our lives. In that circle of influence. That we can impact. We know that there's many. That we rub shoulders with. Have yet to hear this good news.

[35:02] And to know this. Glad saviour. This glad salvation. Don't we want to share. Such good news. Amen. How about you? Isn't that something. We could think. Get that kind of.

[35:13] That same kind of burden. Of. Stud and others. Who. Got that burden. For the gospel. The burden. For souls. Let us pray. Lord. We thank you.

[35:23] That you've come. You come. From heaven's glory. To be that one. To impart. The riches. Of your glory. The riches. Of your grace. To such beggars.

[35:34] As we. Lord. We thank you. For. That great. Relief. That you bring. From the bruising. Of sin. The brokenness. Lord. The bondage. Lord.

[35:45] We think. Of the great. Salvation. So great. Salvation. It's so great. Lord. We know. We ought not. Ever to. Take it. Lightly. Lord.

[35:55] That burden. That we ought to have. To tell others. Of the gospel. To be evangelizers. To be gospelers. To take that gospel. And. Be messengers of it.

[36:06] To take that message. That glad message. To tell others. Lord. Help us. We pray. If there's any. Yet to trust you. In the sound of this message. That. I would. Call upon your name. And find that great.

[36:17] Salvation. Lord. Help us. Also. As receivers of it. To be communicators. Of it too. Help us. Lord. Give us a burden. We pray. Lord. Burden our hearts.

[36:27] Burden our church here. That we'll have a burden. For the lost. That we'll want to tell others. That we'll want to share. That glad message. Lord. Help us. We pray. In Jesus name.

[36:38] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.