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[0:00] The Gospel Truth.

[0:12] The Gospel Truth. Who's ever heard that saying? Have you heard people say that? The Gospel Truth.! I'm telling you the Gospel Truth. It's when someone wants to emphasise something, isn't it? That it's rock solid, you can count on it.

[0:24] It's really, really true. And that's what we're saying today. There's something here that's really, really true. The Gospel Truth. Something you can believe in. You can believe in it. You can trust in it.

[0:35] Absolutely. This is the Gospel Truth. I want to share about three Gospel Truths. Three Gospel Truths. If you've got your Bibles, you can read along the screen here. We're all just going to stand for the reading of God's Word.

[0:47] For Romans 1, verse 16. Let's stand together, shall we? You know, when the mayor walks into the room, everybody stands. When the Governor-General walks in, everybody stands. When they sing the national anthem, everybody stands.

[1:00] We must stand for the Word of God. Amen. Which is the most important truth that we can stand for. Romans 1, verse 16. Paul says this, he says, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

[1:12] For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. To the Jew first and also to the Greek. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your Word, for our gathering together, and for our encouragement now.

[1:27] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. The first Gospel truth here is, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

[1:39] Paul says, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. He says he's not ashamed of it. He wants to tell the Gospel. He wants to share the Gospel. We heard about the gift of the Gospel.

[1:50] Earlier, someone shared. And they wanted to share that gift. They wanted to keep it to themselves. What is the Gospel is an important question. I know my Dad loves to tell the story of some nearly 40 years he was searching for the Gospel.

[2:03] Going to church week after week and still not hearing the Gospel. The Gospel is really important to define, to understand. So the word Gospel, it means good news.

[2:14] I like how you can see the Gospel in that familiar passage, John 3.16. This is how someone has displayed it. You can see the G-O-S-P-E-L here.

[2:26] God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[2:38] You can see the G-O-S-P-E-L in there, can't you? The Gospel is right. It's captured in that one verse really. The good news. The glad news. The great news.

[2:49] There was a time back when Adam and Eve were ashamed. They were ashamed in the garden when they were exposed for their sin, it was exposed.

[3:00] And when they realised about their sin, they tried to run and hide. You know, you might try to run from God, but you cannot hide. You cannot hide.

[3:12] And have you ever been ashamed? I've been ashamed. There's things that I've done I'm ashamed of. Sin brings shame, doesn't it? And regret. Sin haunts people. They live with that regret, that embarrassment, that hurt.

[3:28] There are some things not to be ashamed of though. And this is one of them, right here. The Gospel. Paul says there's something not to be ashamed about, but rather to share it.

[3:40] Don't be embarrassed about Jesus Christ. Don't be embarrassed about sharing your faith. Don't be embarrassed about Him. Paul was one who was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

[3:52] He was not ashamed about the Lord Jesus. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops about Jesus and the message of the Good News. He was not ashamed of it.

[4:04] And Paul goes on elsewhere to explain what the Gospel is. 1 Corinthians 15. He tells us what the Gospel is. He says, Verse 2. By which you also are saved. If you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

[4:28] This Gospel, he says, By which you are saved. Verse 3. For I deliver it unto you, first of all, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.

[4:40] And that He was buried, and that He rose again, the third day, according to the Scriptures. There's the Gospel in a nutshell again. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

[4:53] The Gospel of Christ. This is the Gospel of Christ. Romans 1.16. The Gospel of Christ.

[5:05] It's important that the words of Christ are there. That's what it's all about. Some Bibles take it out, sadly. But this Gospel is about a person. The Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ.

[5:16] The Gospel is wrapped up in this one person. He's changed history. This Gospel is wrapped up in this one person. This one unique person. And so the Gospel, says Paul, is this.

[5:29] Christ died for our sins. He was buried, and He rose again the third day. That's the Gospel. That's the good news. That's the perfect sacrifice God had to provide for us, because God has set the perfect standard.

[5:44] And it's right up here. Higher than me. I can't reach it. You can't reach it. Nobody can. God has set the perfect standard. Sometimes people think, oh, I can measure up.

[5:55] I can stretch that high. I can reach high enough. I can be tall enough. I can reach high enough to reach God's standard. But they're using the wrong standard.

[6:07] The wrong standard. You know, there was a little boy who walked into his mother's kitchen one day, and he talked to his mother. And he told mum, he said, Mum, I've discovered that I am six feet tall.

[6:21] Here he was. He was saying, Mum, I've found that I'm six feet tall. And she asked him, how so? How did you work that one out?

[6:32] And he said he used his shoe. Got his shoe? And he measured with his shoe. One, two, three, four, five, six. Six foot tall.

[6:43] Six foot tall, he said. And she told him that his shoe was not a foot long. You know, his little shoe. But he said, Mum, it's got to be because my foot fits in it.

[6:58] People can be like that, can't they? They can believe that they're pretty good by using their own standard. And I've got to take the other foot off now.

[7:11] I'll be walking wonky. But many people believe that they are pretty good, but they're using a faulty standard. A faulty standard. We can't measure up to God's perfect standard.

[7:23] It's impossible. We can't reach it. Romans 3, 23, it says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The standard of God is so perfect, it's so high, we can't attain to it.

[7:37] We all come short of it. Nobody can make that great. Nobody can measure up that high. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Christ died for our sins.

[7:50] Whose gospel is it? For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the gospel of Christ. You know, this unique person of all history is the one, the one through whom we date time with his birth.

[8:04] We date time about his coming. And it says in the Bible, Neither is there salvation in any other. Amen. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

[8:17] His claims are unique. His gospel is unique. The Lord Jesus is the one who is the gospel. The gospel is all about him. There's 66 books about him.

[8:29] There's 66 gospel versions if you like. 66 books about the gospel about Christ. The theme of Christ runs right through the pages of your Bible.

[8:42] Through every book, every page. Jesus equals salvation. Jesus equals salvation. Jesus equals salvation. Now his very name, Yeshua, as you could say, it's probably pronounced in lots of different ways.

[8:57] But the name Jesus in every language, it means saviour. It means God is the saviour. Jehovah is the saviour. Yeshua, salvation.

[9:09] And this one gospel that will save you is the gospel of Christ. His name. Only his name. Only his name. And now it's important that we're aware that there's lots of lots of different gospels.

[9:21] Different kinds of gospels. Just like someone said there's lots of different kinds of coffee. Now people who know me know I'm not really a big fan of coffee. It doesn't matter what kind of coffee you give me.

[9:33] But I'm told you, you know, Adam probably knows about Starbucks. And I don't know, have they got any Starbucks in Adelaide? No, not here yet. Give it time. Everything American ends up here sooner or later.

[9:45] But apparently there's so many different kinds of cups of coffee. And someone reckoned this about the Starbucks. That Starbucks coffee, they reckon they can make it 19,000 ways.

[9:56] There's 19,000 kinds of coffee you can order. So I hope to see the order list. You know, when you go to a menu, it's hard enough when there's 10 choices, let alone 19,000.

[10:10] 19,000 different ways to make your cup of coffee. But there's only one way to be saved. There's only one way to be saved. Lots of different kinds of gospels.

[10:23] Counterfeit gospels. You can choose from a smorgasbord. The gospel of self-esteem. The gospel of self-worship. The prosperity gospel maybe.

[10:34] The positive thinking gospel. Maybe you could pick from the Mormon gospel. Or the gospel of Scientology. The gospel of the Seventh-day Adventists. The gospel of Freemasonry.

[10:46] The gospel of some other kind of religion or philosophy. But the gospel of Christ stands alone. The gospel of Christ is the one and only gospel that will save your soul.

[10:57] This message is unique. This message is absolute. One gospel. One saving name. And this gospel that we need. The gospel that we need. The good news.

[11:08] The only good news. The only real good news. In contrast to all the counterfeits and the false gospels is the gospel of Christ. Everything hinges on this man.

[11:19] This man alone. Colossians 1.14 it says in whom we have redemption. In other words we get set free because of his blood. Through his blood. Even the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image of the invisible God.

[11:31] The first one of every creature. For by him. By him. Not through him. By him. While all things created that are in heaven. That are in earth.

[11:42] Visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions or prince of the world. Or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created. By him. And for him. And he is before all things.

[11:54] And in him all things consist. He is unique. And he is the head of the body. The church who is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead. That in him. That in all things.

[12:05] He might have the preeminence. Praise God. For the gospel of Christ. For that saving name. There was an old time preacher called Spurgeon. Who said this. It is not thy hold on Christ.

[12:17] That saves thee. It is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ. That saves thee. It is Christ. It is not even thy faith.

[12:29] Though that be the instrument. It is Christ's blood and merit. Amen. Christ's blood and merit. This is good news. Isn't it? Isn't it good news?

[12:40] Amen. Isn't it good news? Glad news. Joyful news. And it is a person. That person is Christ. 1 Timothy 3.16. It says. Great is the mystery of godliness.

[12:51] God was manifest in the flesh. Amen. God clothed in human skin. We can't comprehend it. No. We can't fathom it. We can't get our heads to grapple with that.

[13:04] God was manifest. Revealed in the flesh. In human skin. And God came in Christ to save. This is the gospel.

[13:15] This is the message. We love. The message we must speak up for. And stand up for. And not be afraid. Don't hold it back. It's a priority. Number one. Numero uno.

[13:27] Isn't it? Is that what they say in Spain? Absolutely. Number one. This is more important. More important than finding the cure for cancer. More important than anything your mind can reckon with.

[13:39] Nothing is more important than this one. Truth. The good news comes at a price. The Lord Jesus bore our sin in his own body on the tree.

[13:50] Not just the pain and suffering. The mockery. The spitting. The scourging. The flogging. The bruising. The beating. But our sin. Our sin was there. And this gospel.

[14:02] We should want to witness it. We should not be ashamed of it. We should want to declare it. Whatever the cost. Even at risk of our life. We don't face that in Australia. But some.

[14:13] Do face that risk. At risk of rejection. At risk of persecution. This news is too good to keep to yourself. It's too good. It's too important. It's too precious.

[14:24] This is good news. And it must be told. It must be told. It's our obligation. It's our privilege. It's our obligation. It's our privilege. To proclaim it. To not be ashamed.

[14:36] Not ashamed. Be willing to stand up for it. And be unashamed. The first gospel truth is. The first gospel truth is. For I am not ashamed. Of the gospel of Christ. The second gospel truth is this.

[14:48] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is. The power of God. Unto salvation. This is the gospel that saves. It's powerful. It says the power of God unto salvation.

[15:01] It's not the power of positive thinking unto salvation. You can try really, really hard. To think really, really positively. But you're not going to be saved by that. Amen.

[15:12] It's not the power of philosophy. You might get PhD after PhD. And still not find the power of God unto salvation. It's not the power of our performance.

[15:24] It's not the power of good works unto salvation. None of these things can bring salvation. Salvation is not by religion. Not by religion.

[15:36] It's not by holy water or by holy smoke. Amen. It's not by confessing your sins to a priest. It's not by baptism. It's not by church membership. It's not by self-righteousness.

[15:48] It's not by praying a parroted prayer that you don't really mean. Salvation is by the power and working of God himself. By his Holy Spirit. Demonstrated for us.

[15:59] God's plan of salvation is effected by God's power. And thank God for it. Thank God for it. You can know it. You can know it. You can know it. Romans 5.8 it says, But God commended this love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[16:17] Christ died for us. For us. For us. For us. And God makes salvation happen by his power. Jesus. It means saviour. Salvation. Matthew 1.21.

[16:28] You know they use these verses sometimes at this time of year. But they think nothing of it. It's just Jesus lying in a manger. No. It's Jesus the glorified saviour.

[16:39] The Christ our King. Our Lord. Our Master. And he's coming again. Amen. And she shall bring forth a son. And thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.

[16:53] The Lord Jesus didn't come just as some kind of prophet. Just as some good kind of teacher. Just as some kind of religious instructor. Jesus came as the saviour of the world.

[17:04] The saviour of our world. To save us from our what? Sins. Sins. Jesus came to save people from their sins.

[17:15] Man's condition is sin. Man's condition is sin. You can't get around it. You are sinful. You are a sinner. The Bible says that all have sinned.

[17:26] All have sinned. Every one. Without limits. Every single one. So every single man. Every single woman needs this one saviour.

[17:37] He shall save his people from their sins. Praise God. Salvation comes by his power. It happens by his grace. By his grace it's a gift. As we heard before. Have you said it's the gift of God.

[17:49] God. At the end of it all. All the glory goes to God. Amen. Salvation. It's God saving work. By God saving power. The wholeness of your soul is made possible.

[18:00] Because of this one truth. The gospel truth. That he has come. To save us from our sins. The gospel of Christ. God saving us from our sins.

[18:11] And so God has come. In Christ to deliver us. From destruction. It's the rescue plan for planet earth. If we'll but receive it. True liberation. Not in some kind of revolution.

[18:24] Or some kind of mass movement. Or climate change. Or you name it. It's not going to save the planet. There's only one who can save this planet. Amen. And his name is Jesus. That is his name.

[18:35] And that is the one that can save your soul. That one and only name. God's rescue plan. Is Jesus. Yeah. There was a preacher. Wrote this. A man may go to heaven.

[18:46] Without health. Without riches. Without honors. Without learning. Without friends. But. He can never go there. Without Christ. Amen.

[18:57] You can't get to heaven without Christ. I'm sorry. But I've got to tell you the truth. The truth is you can't get to heaven. Without Christ. Glory. You can't get there without him. It's the one and only way.

[19:09] I'd be lying to you if I was trying to pat you on the back. And tell you there's some other way. Because there is no other way. Amen. Today our world is filled with people who are seeking some other way. Some other way.

[19:20] I'll do it my way. What does that song go like? I did it my way. I'm going to do it my way. Well. It's Jesus' way that we need. It's Jesus' blood.

[19:31] His precious name. All other efforts are going to lead to failure. He is the only way. The only way. And it's because of his love. His saving work at the cross.

[19:43] We can know his forgiveness. His freedom. His grace. His kindness. His salvation. It's the power of God. The power of God. So. So.

[19:54] Please let me put it to you straightly now. People are either lost. Or saved. You can't sit on the fence. It's not. It's uncomfortable sitting on fences.

[20:05] You know. You're either lost. Or you're saved. The good news is. You can go from here to here. Amen. It says we passed from death unto life. It says there's a bridge there.

[20:17] You can go from death unto life. Once I was lost. Now I'm found. Once I was blind. Now I can see. You can pass from death unto life. How? Jesus.

[20:28] He bridges that gulf. Salvation is his saving work. And it's his rescue plan. There's a. Our world is filled with many people who want to find some other way. But Jesus is the only way.

[20:40] So it doesn't matter how sincere you are. You know. There's some people that. You know. I hear stories sometimes. About people. They grab a bottle of something. It looks like cordial.

[20:51] They sincerely believe it's cordial. But it's radiated fluid. Oh it's a nice line cordial. Look. Look. Look.

[21:02] That wasn't cordial. I sincerely believe it was cordial. I really really believe it was cordial. It looked like cordial. It sounded like cordial. It felt cordial.

[21:13] It felt cordial. No it wasn't. And some people like that. Well. My religion is just as good as yours. My philosophy is just as good as yours. My religion tells me how to be a good person.

[21:26] And shows me lots of good works to do. But it's not salvation. Sorry. It can't save you. You're either lost or saved. Don't make that same mistake about the little boy.

[21:38] He tried his six shoes high. And he thought he was six foot tall. It doesn't matter how sincere you are. If you're sincere but wrong. You're sincerely wrong. And you don't measure up. You think you're six foot tall.

[21:50] You think you can reach heaven by your own works. By climbing that ladder of all your good works. But you're going to fall miserably short. Because God's standard is what? Perfection. That's what his standard is.

[22:01] Your good works fail you miserably. Your ladder of good works is not tall enough. It never can be. But thankfully this message tells you there is a way. There is a way.

[22:12] A way we can be saved. And it's the power of God. It's God's power that saves. It's God's power that sets us free. It's God's power that brings salvation to the soul. But you have to come to God.

[22:25] God's way. So we've seen the first gospel truth. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. The second gospel truth. For it is the power of God unto salvation. The third gospel truth.

[22:37] For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation. To everyone that believeth. To everyone that believeth. To the Jew first and also to the Greek.

[22:48] This third truth. This gospel truth. This glad message for your soul. This good news. This great news. This glad news. Of which we are unashamed. Is this. This glad news.

[23:00] That we want to be standing up. And speaking out. And shouting out. And telling the whole world. God giving us breath to. Is that by the power of God. You can be saved. This gospel is to everyone.

[23:12] Everyone. Everyone. Everyone. That believeth. It's got worldwide application. God started with the children of Israel. And then he included us. Wow.

[23:23] He included us. It was the children of Israel. This little group of people. And then God said. Wow. You can come in too. You're welcome too. He says. Come in. He invites all.

[23:34] Whosoever will may come. Doesn't matter what your family is. What your tribe is. What your colour is. What your culture is. What your custom is. What your country is. What your tongue is.

[23:46] What your. Whatever is. Revelation 14. It says that. John saw an angel in the midst of heaven. With the everlasting gospel. It's still everlasting.

[23:57] It's from everlasting to everlasting. The gospel. And he says that he preached it. To the dwellers on earth. Of every nation. And kindred. And tongue. And people.

[24:08] That includes you and me. Doesn't it? Yeah. It includes people. From. From Sudan. Doesn't it? People from the Philippines. Doesn't it? People from Scotland. People from England.

[24:19] People from Wales. People from Spain. People from Elizabeth. Every. Tribe. Tongue. Nation. Saying with a loud voice. Fear God. And give glory to him.

[24:31] For the hour of his judgment is come. And worship him that made heaven and earth. And the sea and the fountains of waters. Friends. This gospel is everlasting. And it's to everyone.

[24:42] It's universal. Universal. This gospel. This news. This good news. This glad news. This great news. This great news is for everyone. Everyone. That believer.

[24:54] The way is open. There was a preacher talking about when the Lord Jesus died. And the temple was. The temple curtain was torn. In two. In two. And this preacher was telling about the temple torn in two.

[25:07] You know. It used to be just a select few. Would go into the holy of holies. It was just a select number. And what happened. When Christ died at the cross.

[25:18] The temple curtain was torn in two. And there was this great big hole. Really it was torn into two pieces. And there was a man listening to the preacher this day.

[25:29] And he said. How big was that hole? And the preacher said. It was big enough. To let any sinner pass through.

[25:41] Amen. That's how big it was. It was big enough to let any sinner through. And the Bible tells us of a new and living way. He's made it open. He's torn the curtain. He's opened the veil.

[25:52] He's opened the way. He's opened the door. He's opened the gates. And we can tell this message. Far and wide. We want to. Because we should be unashamed of it. Unashamed of it.

[26:03] Do you believe? Do you believe? Maybe you don't feel like you're saved. Even though you do believe. That's a problem people have too.

[26:14] I don't feel saved enough. I don't feel the goosebumps. Or that warm and fuzzy feeling. Or that spooky spiritual feeling. That magical feeling that some talk about.

[26:26] And D.L. Moody saw a man who felt worried that he did not feel saved. And this Prince of Moody said this. He said, Was Noah safe in the ark?

[26:40] Certainly he was. Well what made him safe? His feeling or the ark? Or the ark? And the man said, How foolish I've been.

[26:54] It's not my feeling. It's Christ who saves. It's Christ who saves. And his eyes were opening. Realised, Yes! It's Christ who saves. If I'm in the ark. If I'm in Christ I'm safe.

[27:06] If I'm in Christ it doesn't matter what I feel like. It doesn't matter what goes on around me. It doesn't matter the doubts and fears and troubles and trials of life. And all the setbacks and hard times of life.

[27:17] If I'm in Christ I'm safe. And that's the gospel truth simply put today. A great saviour and great grace. And it's available to how many?

[27:29] Every one. How many? Every one that believe. Believe! It's by his grace we receive his gift. It was read earlier in Ephesians 2.

[27:40] For by grace, it's God's grace, you are saved through faith. That not of yourselves. Not of yourselves. No! It is the gift of God. Not of works.

[27:52] Lest any man should boast. It's not about your works. It's not about your religion. It's not about your traditions, your customs, your experience, your religious acts, your rituals.

[28:03] You might be a very religious person. It's not about that. It's not about your feelings even. You might not even feel saved. But if you've done what it says, you're saved.

[28:15] If you've done what it says in the book, you're saved. Simply put. I'm wrapping up shortly here. How are you today? It's important to answer this question personally. I'm not taking for granted that everyone here has received that gift.

[28:30] Now I love to explain it sometimes when I say to someone, here's a gift for you. You don't say, oh, how much do I owe you for it?

[28:41] Some people think, oh, I've got to work for it. I've got to pay God something. I've got to do something. No. Just open your hands. Open your hands.

[28:52] Open your heart. Receive the gift. Just receive it. Receive it by faith. Have you done that? Only you can answer this important, personal, critical question.

[29:03] Have you believed? It makes all the difference. All the difference happens when you believe. There's deliverance from sin. There's deliverance from the penalty, the power of sin.

[29:15] And no other philosophy, no other religion can give you this peace. Your works don't count. It's not like you get a tally of points and you've got to get a certain number of points to get to heaven.

[29:29] No. One makes heaven possible. One work. One work. One work. And that happened 2,000 years ago. One work saves you.

[29:40] The work of the cross. The finished work. And so by grace through faith you can be saved. I urge you. Please trust him. He is the answer for our planet.

[29:53] He is the one who can make you whole. And it's in a person, eternal life. It says it happens when we call upon him. Romans 10, 13. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[30:06] Whosoever. Let me define that for you. Whosoever means anybody and everybody. It means everybody.

[30:18] Right? Whosoever means you. Thank God for that. Wow. He included me. Whosoever will. Whosoever will. Whosoever will. Make that decision. Whosoever will.

[30:29] Will you call on Jesus now? Will you call on him now? Will you trust him now? Will you trust him now? Please I urge you. I urge you to trust him. Now sometimes we can make it complicated. There's people getting baptized today. By simple faith. They said I want to follow Jesus. I want to follow Jesus.

[30:40] I love him. I've received his gift. I want to show the world who I belong to today. And Romans 1, 16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation. And I want to show the world who I belong to today. And Romans 1, 16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

[31:08] To the Jew first and also to the Greek. Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you that the gospel, this good news includes us. It's not limited to a certain children of Israel.

[31:22] It's to your children who will call on you and be saved. We thank you, Lord, for each one here today. Work in each heart. Lord, if there's people that want to respond, they might like to indicate that by coming forward for prayer.

[31:36] If there's anyone here that would like to say, I want to follow Jesus and I want to make this public right now. I want to come forward and I want to receive prayer and to find out more about how I can follow you.

[31:50] We pray that you might stir us to do that. Stir us to respond. Stir us to receive. Help us, Lord, to not be ashamed, but to thank you for that gift and to walk in your truth.

[32:03]  In Jesus' name, Amen.