[0:00] John chapter number 1, verse number 35. I'm going to read down to verse number 42. As you find your place in God's Word, before I read it, I just want to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed that special.
[0:12] As they were practicing this morning, I ran into the sound booth to turn off Spotify because I thought, they've got to practice. And then I went back and I realized all those instruments were coming from the platform here.
[0:23] And I just really enjoyed hearing the music talents, enjoyed the message of that song. Thank you. I'm going to read verse number 35 through 42. We're going to jump back into the story today, looking at specifically the power of the gospel and the message that Andrew will share with his brother.
[0:40] And then we're going to look at the responsibility of Simon, his brother. So the power of the gospel and the responsibility of those who hear that message.
[0:51] Verse 35. Again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed him, and they followed Jesus.
[1:04] Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see.
[1:16] They came, and they saw where he dwelt, and he abode with them that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew. We learn his name. Which is Simon Peter's brother.
[1:29] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And he brought him to Jesus.
[1:40] And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. How many of you in here have siblings? That would be most of you in here.
[1:52] How many of you have siblings in this room with you today? All right, a few of you. Stephen raised his hand a little reluctantly. All right. And Juan, would you mind making your way up here?
[2:03] How many of you in here have a brother in the room today? Are there any brothers? I'm looking. There should be some Mize brothers in here. Malachi and Justice. I won't pick on them.
[2:13] They're much bigger than me. Juan is as well, but I'm just not as scared of them. So I'm all right. And so Juan, you're going to be Andrew here for us for a moment. And so we learned Andrew's name. So Juan, if you will.
[2:24] So he met Jesus and then he spent, we said, about eight hours with Jesus. And so Juan, if you'll go back into that far corner there, and that represents Juan spending those time with Jesus.
[2:35] And then James, would you mind being Juan's brother for a moment, okay? And James will be Juan's brother. And so you could just have a seat there. And so what we're thinking about is the message that Andrew is going to bring to his brother here, Simon, and the response ability that Simon has.
[2:57] All right? And oh, there's one. Nice. What an overachiever. He went all the way to the foyer and got a shirt. All right? That's a very good one. And he brought some material with him.
[3:08] All right? And you too can pick up a shirt and some material in the foyer. All right? Look into the camera. All right? There we go. And our little infomercial there. And so Juan comes out.
[3:20] And as Andrew, this is Andrew in the story here. And I just want to kind of do a freeze frame for a moment in the story. This is Andrew. This is Simon, his brother. And in the passage, after he left his time with Jesus, it said he first, fine, let's scoot back a little bit.
[3:37] Juan, go back over that corner right there. Okay? He comes around. Come around that corner. Go back around here. Okay? This is going to be great. I've been picturing it all week. All right? You come around that corner and then look for your brother.
[3:49] Freeze. That's it. Beautiful Juan. Look at that look right there. All right? All right. And that moment is the one that I want to speak about today where he comes to his brother.
[4:00] And what I believe that's true in my own life, and I believe that I find it in the Bible when it speaks to me about not being ashamed of the gospel, when it speaks about being the power of God to the gospel, is that his decision to move forward to his brother is going to be greatly affected, influenced if he believes that the message he has contains a power from God.
[4:22] God. And then we'll speak about his responsibility, his responsibility, his ability to respond to this message.
[4:32] All right. We're going to pick up there in a second. James, if you'll go to the front row. Juan, why don't you have a seat on the front row? We're going to imagine here, what if Juan did, or Andrew here, it's going to be hard not to call you Juan, okay? And what if Andrew here in the story did not make his way to his brother?
[4:49] Then he would need to come to a conference, all right? We're going to, I'm going to have you in a little time of conference. Come back here if you will, Andrew. I forgot to mention what we have here in Andrew. So what we have here is the gospel doesn't just make converts.
[5:03] Yeah, it's true that he is converted from unbelief to believing, but the gospel, it saves. It doesn't just convert. It truly saves.
[5:15] So a common term for Andrew here would be a Christian. That said, we find it mentioned once in the Bible as a derogative term, little Christ. It's a great compliment if somebody would call you a Christian.
[5:26] Yes, I want to be an imitator of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, especially I believe in the 70s or so, and with politicians, they would make a distinction. It's a Bible term, but they would say, but are you born again?
[5:38] That was the way many people said it for a time, to make that distinction. You're not just culturally a Christian. Have you done what John 3 says, which means that you were dead and you're made alive again, that you're born again?
[5:50] Something that would be theologically accurate. That was a hard one for me, one. Theologically accurate would be to say that he is now in Christ. 400 plus times in the scripture, it talks about we were in Adam from sin, from the garden.
[6:06] We were born into Adam, but now we are in Christ. I could say that about him. Or, it's a way that it says it in the book of Acts. It kind of sounds like something maybe hippies would say, or in the Jesus Revolution, we could have said, he is a follower of the way.
[6:20] I like that one. Hey man, are you a follower of the way? All right, you can say that if you want to. Try it out this week. Let me know how it goes. All right? He's a follower of the way. But a most common term that we use in a verb form is we say that he is saved.
[6:34] Are you saved? On occasion, you'll be speaking to somebody and I'll say, Art, have you been saved? And they will tell me a story. Yes. One time, I was playing with my brothers and sisters and I was out in a road and a car almost hit me and God saved me.
[6:51] You ever heard anybody answer the question like that? That's the way of thinking. But what the scriptures would tell us, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, common passage, for by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves.
[7:05] And so we could say about Andrew here, he's a Christian. He's in Christ. He is a follower of the way and he has been saved. All right, Andrew, you can have a seat just for a moment.
[7:16] Don't go far. All right? No, you keep that shirt on. All right? Don't go far right there. And so here, asking Andrew, what happened to him? What happened to Andrew in this story?
[7:27] What happened to Juan? I remember. I didn't think to tell this today, but Juan, I remember when before you were a believer. I remember the gospel being shared with you. I remember saying, you weren't ready yet.
[7:38] All right? And I remember when you put your faith and trust in Jesus. What happened to Andrew? What happened to Juan? What should we all say about us? 1 Peter chapter number 1, verse 23 through 25.
[7:51] Juan, or Andrew, became wise unto salvation, that the word of God made him wise unto salvation. Here in this passage, it says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
[8:10] Then it goes on to say in verse number 25, and this is the word by which the gospel is preached, preached unto you. Andrew had an encounter with the living word.
[8:22] Andrew met Jesus, the word. He is God. And in meeting the word, he comes to saving knowledge of him. Same with you. You had an encounter.
[8:33] If you have faith in Jesus today, if you have faith, if you have the righteousness of God upon your account, it's because you had an encounter with the word. You know, we live in a culture that's increasingly interested in behavior sciences over theology, but the Bible alone is able to make us wise unto salvation.
[8:53] David Wells says it like this. He says, over a period of time, our society has slowly exited the moral world and now lives in a psychological world.
[9:04] The difference is that in one world, there is right and wrong, and in the other, there is not. In the other world, we are either comfortable or not, psychologically healthy or not, dysfunctional or not, but we are never sinners.
[9:18] The Bible says that we are sinners, and we thank God for that message. We are thankful for the word of God that it says in 2 Timothy 3.15, that the holy scriptures, which are being taught to our kids today in children's church, that are taught throughout the week, that we're taught to use.
[9:35] These holy scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. I want to tell you where I want to get to today.
[9:46] I want you to be rejoicing in the power of God that is found in the gospel. I want you to know that we do not have a weak or an anemic message in this world.
[9:59] I want you to rejoice that despite all the obstacles and all the things that you believe about your loved ones and how they suppress the truth and all the obstacles, that you do not share a message that is simply information.
[10:15] But we have a message that comes in power that transforms lives. And so here the Bible says, we see here that it can be wise unto salvation.
[10:25] And so I want to show here, Andrew, if you did not go to your brother, okay, I would like to speak to you for a moment from Romans chapter number 1, verses 16 and 17. It was given to us in our offering devotion today.
[10:39] And you should know this passage. It's divided up with the word for on three occasions, which is to say because, as a result of. And so, verse number 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is, if you're reading along, say it with me, it is the power of God unto salvation.
[10:59] To everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. You know that Paul isn't saying this at the beginning of an evangelistic crusade.
[11:15] He was sharing this with believing people, with fellow believers. Paul recognizes that if this group of people are going to take the gospel into Rome, then they better be clear on what the gospel is and the power that it has.
[11:31] Later in verse number 18, he gives some motivation about how the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and they hold the truth in unrighteousness. They suppress the truth.
[11:43] I believe we've become very good as a church, churches in America, as Christians in America, stating how horrific the society that we live in, how lost the lost are, how dark the darkness is, how bleak it is.
[12:00] I think we have studied that, and we've explained it so very much. But what I think we've lost sight of is the power of the gospel to transform even the most hopeless of situations.
[12:14] Jesus saves. We call him a savior. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. So the apostle Paul speaks about his relationship with the gospel.
[12:26] The things he says, you could say as well. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 1, he says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, which you're not, and I'm not called to be an apostle, but this is true of us.
[12:38] This is separated unto God, unto the gospel of God. Our lives have been made distinct and separated from this world by the gospel there.
[12:48] So he's commissioned. We are sent. As our father sent the son, we are all been sent into this world here. Next, he says, he was obligated. And the way he explains that, he says, I am a debtor to the Greek and to the barbarians, which is, to anybody who doesn't have the gospel, I have a debt.
[13:08] I have an obligation to. He was commissioned, and he was obligated. I think you feel that. I think if you spend any time at church, you know you have a commission.
[13:19] You've heard me say it. You've heard others say it. You read it in the scriptures. And in reading, I think you feel that obligation. You might have a continual sorrow, like Paul would say about his people.
[13:30] You have a burden. But it's this third point that I want to focus on right here in verse 15, where he says, Romans 1, So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also.
[13:45] I am ready. Yes, commissioned. Yes, obligated. But I am eager. I am ready to preach the gospel. And he was eager, not because of his ease of audience or his ability, but because of the power of the gospel.
[14:01] You know, you don't have to tell people not to be ashamed unless there's a temptation to be ashamed. When he said, I am not ashamed of the gospel, that clues us into the fact that there is a tendency to be ashamed.
[14:14] We see it again when he'll tell Timothy, don't be ashamed. 2 Timothy 1.8, Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Paul says, I'm not ashamed. He tells Timothy, don't be ashamed.
[14:25] And all of us outside of that, we realize we can have a tendency to act as if we are ashamed. Paul didn't come to them with great oratory skills. His words were not enticing.
[14:38] The Jewish audience, the gospel was a stumbling block to them. To the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people, they said it's just foolishness. This message is just, it's foolish. And those that carry it would be foolish people.
[14:51] According to tradition, Paul was not much to look at. It appears that he had an eye problem. We expect that he was short, wasn't much to look at. He did not, he was not eager because he just loved talking in front of people.
[15:04] He was not eager because he thought he had a great eloquence of speech. He said that much. He was eager because he believed that the message he carried had power. And to overcome those that thought it was a stumbling block and those that thought it was foolishness.
[15:19] And he challenges others. And I expect you as well. You know your commission. You know you're obligated. But are we eager because we know the power of the gospel? And it says here, first of all, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
[15:34] That first of the three divisions is that statement. For it is the power of God unto salvation. If left to ourselves, we can't repent and believe.
[15:46] I hope that none of you have to leave the day. And if you do have to leave, please don't leave in the next five minutes, all right? I need this entire five minutes to complete this thought. If you leave halfway through, we might have a problem, okay?
[15:56] First of all, I want you to realize that you and I can't repent and believe if left to ourselves. We were born with a natural desire for rebellion, self-interest, and disobedience.
[16:09] Romans 7, 18. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good things. For to will is present with me. But how to perform that which is good, I find not. Born in Adam with rebellion, self-interest, and disobedience.
[16:24] If you don't believe that, if you believe that man is born morally perfect and without sin, I will sign you up for the nursery and for children's ministry and come back and report to me your findings, all right?
[16:35] Speak to our nursery director of the day, okay? We are born rebellious. We are born with self-interest and disobedience. And even with the knowledge of God's existence everywhere, people naturally choose to suppress the truth.
[16:49] Romans 1, 18. Creation testifies of the existence of a God and people fight against that truth, all right? You can speak all day long if you want to try to convince somebody of the existence of God.
[17:02] God has put himself on trial in front of man and said, I exist. He has given plenty of evidence here. And we couldn't think our way out of it.
[17:12] No matter how smart or clever you may be or your loved one, without God revealing this truth to you, you would never know it. 1 Corinthians explains it like this. For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God.
[17:27] It pleased God. And let's read this together. The world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God. Now say this with me, the next four words. The foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
[17:38] Not by foolish preaching. By the foolishness of preaching. That the wisdom of this world, you are not going to think yourself out of this problem. I often think that I can get out of it.
[17:51] I'm facing something. Me and Stephanie, we're trying to get the kids somewhere. An algorithm. And I'll just say, give me a few minutes. I'll figure this out. You know? The problem of your sin against God and your broken relationship, you were not going to think your way out of that.
[18:08] You and your own wisdom. You would have lived and died in your sins. And so, not by the wisdom of the world. And the salvation that's provided in the gospel is needed of every single person in the entire world.
[18:21] It's a common problem for all men. And so, our mission is to all people. And so, we affirm this biblical doctrine that would be known by many as human depravity.
[18:34] That no one seeks God on their own. No one can fill the laws, the man. And that we are all spiritually dead. Put a quote on the screen here for you. I'll show you the quote first.
[18:45] And then, I'm going to make a little bit of emphasis as I read it this week from a commentary. And I know that the man that I'm reading, that we disagree on some understandings about things. And this is the quote. And when I read it, I want to tell you where we agree.
[18:59] And it says, as a creature, the natural man is responsible to love, obey, and serve God. And as a sinner, he is responsible to repent and believe the gospel.
[19:10] But at the outset, we are confronted with the fact that the natural man is unable to love and serve God. And that the sinner of himself cannot repent and believe.
[19:22] James was up here a second representing the brother that had a responsibility to the message that was brought to him. And this message that I read to you, I believe to be biblically accurate.
[19:37] But what I want to point out to you, and you can go to the next slide here, is this expression right here. Unable to love and serve God and that the sinner of himself cannot repent and believe.
[19:51] And we need to know that. This is great news. You and I are not left to ourselves. Last week, I went to an ear, nose, and throat doctor. And he was looking at my ears.
[20:02] And thank you for praying. I hear so much better today. And I went there. And the ear doctor told me, he said, left to yourself, that ear is not going to heal. And I said, well, good news, doctor.
[20:14] I'm not left to myself. I'm not left to myself. And he's like, what are you talking about? I said, I am a child of God. And so I am not left to myself in this world.
[20:24] And I will ask God's people to pray. And if he heals, wonderful. And if he doesn't, praise the Lord. I will trust him that this is something that I should carry with me at this time. But the point is, and I believe that you understand what I'm saying, is that I'm not left to myself.
[20:39] There is no lid on this world that separates God from us. That he has engaged this world. He has made himself known to us. And so these things are true, but we're not left to ourselves.
[20:51] God sought Adam and Eve in the garden. God has been seeking lost loved ones ever since. Luke 19, 10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. He found Adam and Eve.
[21:02] And he found me. And he found you. God sent Jesus, the Holy Spirit. And we have the inspired Word of God. We have the Gospel. We are not left to ourselves.
[21:12] So is it true that no one can seek God on their own? It is. But that does not mean that we cannot respond willingly to a God who is actively seeking us by the powerful, Holy Spirit-inspired Gospel.
[21:27] Like how one man says it late in Flowers. He says, though I can't call the President. And I haven't been looking to, if you're interested. Though I can't call the President. That does not mean that I'm not able to answer the phone if he were to call.
[21:40] His brother, Andrew's brother, Simon, James, and whoever sits on this stool here today, he has the ability to respond to the Gospel. Because it is the power of God unto salvation.
[21:53] We all agree that no one can fulfill the demands of the law outside of Christ. However, we can't admit the fact and the place of our faith. We put our faith in the One who has fulfilled the law for us.
[22:04] We all agree that we were once dead in sins and trespasses. But we also can agree that we've been raised to walk in newness of life. We looked at it in Luke chapter number 15. There was a prodigal who was dead and he was now made alive as he came.
[22:20] And we see the story of one that repented. So our deadness is lostness. But it's not a lack of moral ability to respond to God's appeal to be reconciled.
[22:31] Simon here had a response ability to the Gospel because of the power to make dead things alive. This matters to me.
[22:43] This matters to me tremendously. This matters to all of us. And this is not a theological argument to win. But this is a truth about the power of the Gospel that we need to rejoice in.
[22:55] As I said, I believe that we have minimized and diminished the power of the Gospel. And that it does not have a power to transform lives. And in doing so, remember when we saw Andrew a second ago?
[23:07] He came around the corner and he looked at his brother with an eagerness that the Apostle Paul said he would have in the share of the Gospel. Because he believed it is the power of God unto salvation.
[23:18] That brings us to our next point. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Verse 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith.
[23:31] It is the power of God. It being the Gospel. And therein is the righteousness of God is revealed in this Gospel. So we have a progression. Not being ashamed of the Gospel.
[23:42] It being the power of God. And how the righteousness of God is now revealed. And that simply means this. It means that God saves through the message of the Gospel as it is proclaimed.
[23:56] That God saves through the message of the Gospel as it's proclaimed. Paul knew this and spoke about it often in Scriptures. Philippians chapter number 3 verse number 6.
[24:08] He's often sharing his testimony. He's often reminding you that he had zeal, but he persecuted the church. Touching righteousness, none of you were any better than me. Touching attendance, nobody was any better.
[24:20] Touching giving to the poor, nobody was better. All the things that you measure yourself by goodness, I'm at the top of it. But I count all of those things as nothingness. For I count as loss.
[24:31] Yea, doubtless. Verse number 8. Yea, doubtless I count all these, but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And do count them but done, that I may win Christ.
[24:43] And verse 9. And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. The righteousness which is of God by faith.
[24:55] Not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith of Christ. He says on a personal level that the righteousness of God has been revealed to him.
[25:09] And he now no longer stands before the God of heaven in his own good works. But he stands there with the righteousness of God. And so how did this happen? The righteousness which is of God by faith.
[25:23] The Bible explains to us. Romans chapter number 10, verse number 17. Where does this faith come from? Romans 10, verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
[25:37] Hearing is important. Which means speaking the gospel is important. And how will these people hear? The same chapter answers this. Verse 14. How then shall they call on him and whom they have not believed?
[25:51] And how shall they believe in him and whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? On a very personal level here, the apostle Paul says, I'm no longer underneath the wrath of God.
[26:03] I'm now under the righteousness that has been provided. This comes to me by faith that was brought by me hearing the gospel. He was completely lost.
[26:14] He was completely dead. But then the power of the gospel came and he responded to it in faith. And so the gospel is a powerful message.
[26:25] It's not a suggestion. It's not a self-help. It's not behavior modification. It is a transformational message where when we share it, you and I can recognize and others can recognize that we are in need of a savior.
[26:41] And we can put our faith and trust. It does not stand on the level of any other message in all of the world. It stands alone as the power of God unto salvation.
[26:54] As your musicians come and play, I'm going to give you a chance to respond here in a second. I'd like to sing a song for you. It doesn't mean I'm going to. It just means I would like to sing a song to you. Don't get excited, Elliot.
[27:04] All right? I'm not singing this morning. The song that we know is this. It is, To God be the glory. To the apostle Paul, it was personal. It's not his righteousness anymore.
[27:15] He's heard the gospel and now he's responded. His faith is in God. His faith came from hearing the gospel. And he heard it because somebody brought it to him. And he's responding. And now you, have you on a personal level as well, responded.
[27:30] The song, Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood. To every believer, the promise of God. The vilest offender who truly believes. That moment from Jesus, a pardon receives.
[27:45] Church family, would you just take a moment and rejoice in that. The purchase that was made for you. To every believer, the promise of God. The vilest offender. We have rebelled against him.
[27:57] Some of you know that about yourself. Some of you can go back to that place and you can remember. Some of you had heard the gospel many times growing up and you just rejected it. But we are all living in rebellion to him.
[28:09] Till we heard the gospel, we heard it. It doesn't mean that it was the first time that it was said in our presence. It means it was the first time that you heard it. That you responded to it. And I thank God.
[28:21] And it was in that moment from Jesus, a pardon receives. James, if you'll come back here. And Andrew, if you'll come back here. And I just think about that here.
[28:31] All right. It's this moment where this brother in eagerness, under obligation and commission, yes. But just simply eager to come over here to his brother and share the message with him about.
[28:46] Okay, come on. Come on, Andrew. All right. He comes over here with him and he shares. And what we have here is a person with a powerful message. Not because he's strong and powerful.
[28:57] Not because the world we live in is easy. But the gospel is the power of God and the salvation. And we should eagerly share it with people. Because he has the ability to respond to it.
[29:11] That God can make him who was once dead alive. The power of God is seen in this world. Thank you, guys. And I pray that this has played out so many times.
[29:22] Thank you. Kind of hope that would happen. All right. Where are you going? You guys just sit down. No, you're good. Just sit down. All right. You can have a wardrobe change later. All right. So Paul knew.
[29:32] He knew it was personally that we should take the great commission. He felt it personally in his own life. He knew that it wasn't his righteousness. And because of that, he took the great commission personally.
[29:43] He took sharing the gospel personally. Paul knew it was a message that we all needed. That salvation provided in the gospel is the need of everybody. In Romans 1.5, it says it like this.
[29:54] By whom we have received grace and apostleship. For obedience to the faith among all nations. For his name. So would you understand today. Why we would pray over the little field's second daughter.
[30:07] The head to the mission field to Asia. Would you understand the emphasis that we place. On teaching the word of God. The children. Do you understand why this church gave $200,000.
[30:19] To get the gospel out around the world last year. And this year we're going to ask that we give even more. It's because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
[30:30] And it's changed our lives. And I pray that it has changed your life. And that you've heard it as good news. Titus that we'll get to next month.
[30:42] Lord willing. Tells the story of a church. Who were Titus 3.3 says. They were sometimes foolish and disobedient. Deceived and divided. Given over to their lust and their pleasures.
[30:54] As such were all of us in here. Living in malice and envy and hateful. And hating one another. That's who we would be today. That's who this group of people would be today.
[31:04] But verse 4. But after that. The kindness and love of God. Our savior towards man appeared. Not by the works of righteousness which we have done.
[31:16] But according to his mercy. He saved us. By the washing of regeneration. And the renewing of the Holy Ghost. After the kindness of the love of our God.
[31:27] And savior towards man appeared. Word. That's what happened when you saw the gospel. That is what happened when somebody shared that with you. The power of God changed your life.
[31:39] And you saw his kindness. And so before we close the day. I ask you. You've looked at the power of the gospel. And I remind you of its purpose. It's not so that it would tell those that have been chosen.
[31:51] It's not so that it would be given in a way that people couldn't refuse. What is the purpose? In John 20.31. It's this. John 20.31. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ.
[32:04] The son of God. And that believing you might have life through his name. This message brings life. It is the power of God and the salvation.
[32:15] The purpose is clear. When we were without hope. When we deserved hell because of our rebellion. When we could not come to God in our own wisdom. And when our works were considered filthy rags in his sight.
[32:27] He sent his son. The kindness. The love. And this is good news. And it's certainly worth sharing. Church family. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father.
[32:38] I thank you for the kindness and love. That has been demonstrated to all of us. In this room. I thank you for the stories of brothers telling brothers about the gospel. Of a sister telling me of the gospel.
[32:51] Of a mom and dad telling the gospel. When the gospel arrived in our story Lord. It has made a change. The power of God arrived. And it took those of us Lord.
[33:03] Who without hope. And it has filled us with hope. And Father. I am so very thankful. And I pray right now. With every head bowed and every ear closed. I ask my brothers and sisters in here to respond.
[33:15] In the same way. That I was called upon to respond. To the scripture. Yes you're obligated. Yes you're commissioned. But are you eager? Do you remember?
[33:27] This is good news. This is good news. That we get to share. And it's not a weak message. It is not powerless. But you can go and you can share it.
[33:38] Believing that it will make a everlasting difference. In your lost loved ones. If you have somebody in here. That you've been praying for. Would you raise your hand. And I can pray with you right now.
[33:49] You may be a family member. Maybe a son. Maybe a daughter. Is there somebody in here. That you just know is not believing. And that's your burden for. Would you raise your hand. I want to pray for them. Heavenly Father. You see these hands.
[33:59] But more importantly Lord. You know the names that are represented by these hands. Father. My hand is lifted up high to you today. And Father. Forgive me where I have believed.
[34:10] That the darkness is greater than the light. Or I believe that I don't have a message. That is powerful. And Father. I want to acknowledge with my brothers and sisters today. That we are eager to share this message.
[34:24] Because we see the power that is there. Believers. As you continue to pray in your seat. I just want to take a moment here. If you're in here today. And you're hearing the gospel.
[34:34] For the first time. That you're understanding. That you are in need of a savior. That in your own. And in your own wisdom. And in your own goodness. You would never merit salvation.
[34:46] And today. That good news sounds so wonderful to you. Today. I want to encourage you. I want to plead with you. To cry out to the Lord. Pray something like this. Heavenly Father. Today.
[34:56] I recognize my need of the savior. Your son came. In his kindness. In his goodness towards me. And he died in my place. Today. I repent of my sins.
[35:06] Father. I turn to you. You are the Lord of my life. And I want to spend my days. Living as worship. Into your presence. Pray that from your heart today.
[35:18] And receive him. And allow us the opportunity. To give you resources. And friendships. That will help you grow. In that. Heavenly Father. I thank you so much.
[35:28] For the gospel. Father. It came in power to me. Lord. And I am so grateful. I wasn't smart enough. To go looking for it. I wasn't smart enough.
[35:39] Lord. To understand it. If you would not have made it. Come in power. And in the simplicity. Father. I wasn't good enough. To make any changes on my own. But the father. Father.
[35:50] The gospel found me. In power. And I am so very grateful. Father. Father. I want to spend my days rejoicing. With these people in this room. In what you have been.
[36:00] What you have done. Father. I pray that you would allow us. The privilege. To rejoice with more and more people. In the days to come. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
[36:11] Amen. Thank you.