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 that's good brothers thank you so much for sharing that if you have your bibles i want you to turn to

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 romans chapter one romans chapter one it's been estimated that 90 of the news is negative

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 we seem to be drawn to negative news bad news as a matter of fact the industry knows that

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 they know that bad news is much more likely to catch someone's eye than good news

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 and a newspaper a few years ago advertised that for one day it was going to share only good news

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 and uh they did and two-thirds less readers wrote it that day you may be like uh alice roosevelt

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 longworth she's teddy's daughter and uh she was somewhat scandalous and she said one time she

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 said if you can't say something nice about someone then come sit right next to me

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 we love the spilled tea we love the bad stuff we love the negative

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 well i got news for you my friend i didn't come share negative this morning i come share good news

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 i've got some good news to share with you romans chapter one verse 16 says for i am not ashamed of

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 the gospel for it is the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes to the jew first and also

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 to the greek the word gospel there means good news and i want to be clear this morning about what good

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 news is because so often people throw that word gospel around they'll want you to really believe

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 about what they tell you and they'll say that's the gospel truth and they might they may not be talking

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 at all about the gospel we need to be careful about what we call the gospel truth so let me tell you what

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 the gospel truth is the gospel truth the good news is that jesus lived a sinless life that he died on the cross

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 as a sacrifice for us sinners and he rose again to proclaim that all who believe in him

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 and confess him shall be saved and inherit eternal life and that changes your day to day

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 from the first day because the holy spirit of god enters into our lives and empowers us to face the

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 struggles that we deal with whether they be inward struggles or whether they be outward struggles we

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 have a new power within us that word there that paul refers to is dunamis where we get our word

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 dynamite from it speaks of the might of the holy spirit of god entering into our life and that changes us for

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 all of eternity not only allows us to avoid hell which we all deserve and to go to heaven which we will

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 inherit and spend eternity with the lord now my friend that's the gospel nothing else is the gospel

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 that's the gospel and it's the same gospel for everyone and it's offered to everyone romans 10 13

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 says for everyone who calls upon the name of the lord shall be saved second peter chapter 3 verse 9 says

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 the lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing

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 that any should perish but that all should reach repentance jesus died so you could be saved and be

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 clear if that strikes you as something you need to do don't be fooled you didn't come up with that on

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 your own that didn't rise up within you god initiates any desire that you have for him he gives us that we

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 can't come up with that we are spiritually dead in our transgressions and sins is what scripture says

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 unless the lord initiates that and and when he does we have the responsibility to respond to that god

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 enables and we respond and we better pay attention because verse 10 of second peter chapter 3 says

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 but the day of the lord will be will come like a thief my friend i got news for you jesus is coming soon

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 and uh he's been coming soon since he ascended quite honestly uh he uh when you think about the scope of

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 eternity it's immediate regardless of what day it is but we don't know when we just need to be ready

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 some people will try to tell you they know when i got news for you jesus said they ain't gonna know

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 they don't know he'll come like a thief in the night so we need to be ready whenever heart settled

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 lives committed i'm not putting pressure on you jesus warns us in parables again and again

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 that he shares that one day it will forever be too late and you need to be ready before it comes

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 and i got good news for you it ain't too late right now it ain't too late right now if you don't know

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 the lord come to him today come to him as you are and he'll make you to be what he would have you

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 to be don't wait until you get it all worked out because i got news for you you're not going to get

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 it all worked out he's made us dependent upon him and so we need to we need to make sure that we lean

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 upon him and if you're a christian we need not be ashamed of what christ has done for us don't ever

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 back off the necessity of the cross of christ never let what he did for us leave our minds leave our

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 conscience leave our day keep it ever before you and one way we do that instructed by jesus himself

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 is we do that by approaching the lord's table and remembering how he spared his body

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 and how he shed his blood in the last night that jesus spent with his disciples before his crucifixion

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 right before he went to the garden and was arrested and then tried and then killed he gathered

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 with them in an upper room and he shared with them a meal and he started that meal with something that is

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 actually to do in remembrance of how he fulfills old testament prophecy as well as how he fulfills the

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 whole old testament sacrificial system paul records it this way in first corinthians 11 verse 23 he said

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 for i received from the lord what i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the night in which he was

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 betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you

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 do this in remembrance of me in the same way he also took the cup after supper saying this cup

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 is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as

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 you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes he tells us to do that

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 in remembrance of him and i want you to notice how he does it he begins by giving thanks if you're a child

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 of god today and you've been saved by faith in christ you have got a lot to be thankful for

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 you and i have a lot to be thankful for and we need to pause and we need to give thanks before taking part

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 in this supper we also ought to pause and do more than that paul continues that that passage by saying in verse 27

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 whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty

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 concerning the body and blood of the lord let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink

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 of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on

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 himself so in other words not only are we also not only are we to give thanks but we also need to be

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 right with the lord or if we're not this supper does more damage to us than good he goes on to say

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 that it could do a lot of damage and i'm not going to get into that but i'm just telling you you need to

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 be right with the lord when you take it so give thanks get right and worship and remember during the supper

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 why we take it we have a time of reflection and an invitation for prayer for salvation for public confession

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 of faith before we ever take the lord's supper and i do that on purpose to give you pause an opportunity

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 to get what's right what's wrong right with the lord take advantage of that opportunity and then as we take

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 and eat that bread ponder on how he gave his life for us he gave his life for you it was personal

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 it is personal and the cup it's called the cup in first corinthians 11 because that cup

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 represented what old testament prophecy spoke of about the wrath of god and the wrath of god was often

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 described as the cup of god's wrath and how when you drank down the wrath of god the horror that you face

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 jesus asked in the garden if it was the father's will to let the cup pass

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 it was not that he didn't want to go to the cross it was that he dreaded taking on the wrath of god for all

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 the sin of the world it was the cup

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 but it was not to be he could not let that cup pass because without taking on the cup of god's wrath

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 without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin so as we drink thank god for his shed blood

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 as he became the blood sacrifice that fulfills thousands of animal sacrifices and rivers of blood

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 that flowed out of that temple before he ever came to the cross as the song says thank you lord for the blood

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 blood applied what we need to do is pause and say lord i pause to remember what you've done for me

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 and i commit my life to live in response to the opportunity that you've given me in christ

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 i'm going to give you time to do that this morning but i want you to keep something in mind i want you

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 to know this we're not mourning the dead today we're celebrating the living lord and i want to give

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 thanks to him with all of my life with every head bow and every eye closed i want to encourage you to

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 take advantage of this opportunity to pause and reflect and get things right

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 it's always amazes me when people get baptized how it works in the lives of other people

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 i know that so many lives will be affected by these who've been obedient to baptism

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 we may see that one day we may never see it but we'll see it in eternity as people are affected by

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 people's obedience if you're here this morning and you've never received the lord jesus as your

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 personal lord and savior you've never asked for giving and cleansing to come into your life i want

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 you to know today's the salvation the day of salvation he'll meet you where you are he'll change

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 your life and i encourage you to come share that with me as we stand and sing in just a moment

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 maybe you're here and you have done that but you've never been baptized as a believer

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 and uh that struck a chord with you today you want to come and proudly proclaim your faith and

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 prepare for baptism at a future date in fact the lord's leading you do that you come i'll guide you in

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 that process maybe god's drawing you to first baptist church don't let the events of this morning distract

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 you from doing exactly what god's told you to do i encourage you to be obedient and follow the lord as he

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 leads you i'll guide you in that process but for all of us folks we need to allow this time to not be

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 one where we sing through a song but instead one that we reflect upon our own life what is it in our

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 life that is a hindrance in our walk with god what it needs to be removed in our life today confess that

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 to the lord and come to this table clean and if god reveals sin in your life that you're not willing to

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 walk away from then be obedient do what paul advised us to do not take part in this

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 until we're right with the lord it's not about just participation it's about making sure we do it in a

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 biblical fashion heavenly father work and move in our midst right now oh god i pray lead us lord to

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 follow you and it's only in christ's name that we pray amen