I really have enjoyed being with you.
The Lord took Jacob on a long trip
to get to a place called Bethel.
And he had heart dealings with him
and he saw angels ascending and descending.
And the Lord brought me on a long trip
halfway across the country to Parker.
And I will just say, to me,
this is a house of God.
God.
He's wonderfully in this place.
And if you have been plagued
with the monotony of the regular,
just, I want to stir you up.
This is a special place that you have here.
Thank you for your ministry.
All of you in my own soul.
I came to Denver for the first time ever in 1974.
I was a Roman Catholic.
And my righteousness was my own.
Jehovah said, can you?
The Lord our righteousness.
It meant nothing to me.
In fact, I came with my brother,
two of my best friends,
and a Roman Catholic priest.
And we headed about 11 o'clock p.m.
toward Denver.
Where is it?
And went over the ridge of the mountain
and looked down.
Denver!
Sparkling, enormous city.
But Jehovah said, can you?
It meant nothing to me.
It was all Mark's righteousness.
But then, in 1976, I went to a fellowship of Christian athletes camp
at Central Michigan University.
Preaching of the word of God came to my heart.
Exposed my sin.
And Jehovah said, can you?
The Lord our righteousness meant all things to me.
And so now I come back to this big city of Denver,
and I have a message that's significant.
In fact, the message is, take your Bibles with me and turn to Romans 1, 16.
We'll just primarily focus on one verse here.
Romans 1, 16.
Look what it says there.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel.
Paul was approaching a big city as well, of Rome.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Let's pray together.
Our Heavenly Father, we have prepared all the kindling,
and we ask that you would bring the fire.
Come, Holy Spirit, we pray.
May we leave this place and say like those on the road to Emmaus,
did not our hearts burn within us as the scriptures were opened?
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Constantine became the emperor of Rome in 311 A.D.,
and he provided Christianity with Caesar's protection,
bringing over two centuries of persecution to an end.
But then, 25 years later, after Constantine died,
one Julian, the emperor, nicknamed Julian the Apostate, the new Caesar,
he became the emperor.
And for Julian, hating Christianity,
he didn't return to the policy of persecution with sword and fire and lions
for fear that martyrdom would energize Christianity instead of crushing it.
Instead, Julian cunningly fought the church by writing treatises against Christianity
and by removing Christians from positions of influence
and by forbidding education of Christian youth
and by robbing Christians of their possessions.
But during a night battle in 363,
Caesar Julian was struck by an arrow at a venture.
And as he was there dying,
because it gave him a mortal wound,
legend has it that the last words were spoken in surrender
by Emperor Julian to King Jesus,
against whom he had fought bitterly all his life.
And he said,
Galilean, thou hast conquered.
And since then, arguably,
the influence of Christianity has dominated the Western world.
That was in 363.
But dial back with me about three centuries earlier to 57 AD.
Here, the Apostle Paul anticipated his soon arrival in,
not Denver,
but in a big pagan city named Rome.
That was the capital of Caesar's power.
And he, Paul,
was captain of just this motley
and pitiable-looking army of King Jesus.
You see, King Jesus was a rival ruler
who sought supreme allegiance
in the hearts of men
over the emperor Caesar,
who was Nero at that time.
And we see that Paul's lone weapon
as he approached this huge city of Rome
was this flimsy-looking little sling
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And surely it seemed as he approached that big city
like he was on a fool's errand.
So these thoughts kind of warm our minds
to the first century conflict
residing in Paul's words
when he says there, 116,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
for it's the power of God for salvation
to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first,
and then also to the Greek.
That's a text we want to focus in on.
We want to do it under three main headings here.
Three main headings.
And the first is
Paul's gospel confidence stated.
The second is
Paul's gospel confidence reasoned.
And the third is
Paul's gospel confidence applied.
Three main headings
and we go to the table.
I hope this is an appetite wedding
hors d'oeuvre of the word
before we dine on the table.
So consider Paul's gospel confidence stated.
Look, he says there,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
He's saying,
I'm not embarrassed about it.
I'm not afraid it's going to bring me ridicule.
I don't shrink back
because of the gospel.
He says that because
he's kind of in the face of scorning here.
Think of the context.
Paul's writing from Corinth.
And if you could look directly
across the Adriatic Sea
to the Italian peninsula
where Rome resided,
there he would be looking at
the capital of world power.
It was the residence of all the great people.
The who's who of the globe.
That's what Rome was at this time.
There in Rome was the pomp and ceremony
of the Roman emperor's court.
In Rome there were senators
and philosophers and orators
and writers and intellectuals.
Rome was a very intimidating,
sparkling place.
And Paul, as he stood in his sandals though,
he had a message to bring to Rome.
And the message was to Rome that,
listen to this now,
the savior of the whole world
is a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth.
Jesus, who by the way,
whose life campaign climaxed
in his being crucified on a Roman cross.
And believe me,
those in Rome knew
what a Roman cross was
and the kind of humiliation it brought.
That was Paul's message
to this great city of Rome.
This sophisticated and learning city.
How would they respond to him
if you were thinking in Paul's sandals there?
Paul, as he approaches Rome,
thinks,
they're going to laugh me
and scorn me out of town.
And left to myself,
they're going to say,
look at this funny little man.
Look at this amusing fellow
with the hooked nose,
the bald head,
and the bowed legs.
What are you little man doing
coming to Rome?
Are you auditioning to be
the court jester of Caesar's palace
to tell us that Jesus
is the savior of the world
and all of us need to knuckle under
to his message?
Remember how Paul,
he had Athens in his rearview mirror.
How did the sophisticated
big city of Athens
treat the apostle Paul?
Well, in Acts 17,
in verse 18,
it says,
after Paul preached there
in the Areopagus
and then there on Mars Hill,
how did they respond to him?
They said,
wow, that's quite a message.
We need to really take that seriously.
It says that the Epicurean
and Stoic philosophers
called him an idle babbler.
They called him basically
a seed-picking hick.
It says in verse 32 of Acts 17
that they sneered at him
when he spoke about this idea
of somebody being raised from the dead.
He's telling us fairy tales
and stories.
Now understand,
the apostle Paul,
we think,
well, that didn't bother him
because he was a mighty apostle.
Well, no,
he wasn't a man of steel.
He wasn't invulnerable
to being scorned
and criticized.
He was really quite shaken up about it.
In fact, it says
in 1 Corinthians 2.1,
having gone from Athens,
he came then to Corinth
where it says
in 1 Corinthians 2.1,
he says,
I came to you in Corinth
in weakness,
in fear,
and much trembling.
Why?
Because his world had been mocked.
It had been rocked.
They had scorned him.
Yet still now,
when he came to Corinth,
even though he'd been criticized
and scorned,
his jaw was set.
For I came among you in Corinth
determined to know nothing else
but Jesus Christ
and him crucified.
You think after dealing
with the philosophers of Athens,
he would change his gospel message
and maybe start to use
some philosophy
and the wisdom of the world.
But no,
he wouldn't change at all.
He just came
with this little sling
of the gospel
standing before
the giant Goliath-like city
of Corinth
and then eventually Rome.
You see,
Paul was a man
of mighty intellect.
And he had the cerebral muscle
to be able to fence
and joust
with the greatest
of the intellectuals
of his day.
But Paul refused
to change his message,
to use worldly methods.
Though people looked
at his gospel,
it's just the hokey foolishness
of the gospel.
And he was tempted,
just like many in our day,
to bring a more palatal,
a more tasty message
to the unbeliever's mind,
to remove the offense
of the cross
and its related themes.
But instead,
Paul says,
I'm not ashamed
of this gospel
as he spoke it
in the face of scorning.
But we're looking at,
again,
that first main heading,
Paul's gospel confidence
stated,
yeah,
in the face of scorning,
but also,
look,
with a voice of daring.
With a voice of daring.
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel.
You see,
this wasn't spoken
with a Nicodemus-like sheepishness
who came to Jesus at night
so nobody would see him.
He wasn't cowardly and weak.
Jesus may have said
to Nicodemus,
are you ashamed of me?
Nicodemus coming at night
like this?
And Nicodemus may say,
no,
I'm not ashamed.
But he really was.
No, no.
Paul,
on the other hand,
he spoke this
with a voice of daring
when he says,
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel.
It was spoken
like a defiant David.
Must be a David here.
Is there a David here somewhere?
All right.
David was that little
pitiable runt of a boy
who in the valley of Elah,
remember he was looking up
the nostrils of Goliath
as he stood toe to toe
with him.
He was being taunted
and mocked by Goliath.
But David said there,
he said,
I am not ashamed
of this little sling
that I have.
You may have that big spear,
that big shield,
that big helmet,
but David tossing
the little pedal
up and down.
I'm not ashamed
of this sling
that I have here
because David said
to Goliath
in 1 Samuel 17,
because the battle
is the Lord's
and I will strike you down,
David says,
and I will remove
your head.
And that's what Paul felt like
as he was facing
the giant of Rome.
Like the giant of Denver,
like you all are facing.
He's not ashamed
of this gospel.
McLaren says this
in his commentary.
He says,
the danger of coming to Rome
and all the consequences
that could result.
He says,
the danger was an attraction
to Paul's chivalrous spirit.
Paul believed in flying
at the head
when you're fighting
with a serpent.
And he knew
that influence
exerted in Rome
would thrill
throughout the whole empire.
Paul knew,
like Julian eventually found
that the Galilean,
that he would triumph.
And so,
Paul,
armed with the flimsy
looking sling
of the gospel
and the smooth stones
of its key doctrines,
he made his approach
to Rome.
That's Paul's gospel
confidence stated,
our first of three main headings.
So come out with me
secondly to
the second main heading,
which is
the gospel's confidence
reasoned.
Paul's gospel confidence
reasoned.
You see,
Paul gives the reason
why he's not ashamed.
Four.
It is the power of God
for salvation
to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first,
then also
to the Greek.
So he's reasoning
why he's not ashamed.
There are three reasons
he gives here.
Notice.
First,
because it announces salvation.
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel
for it is the power
of God
for salvation.
That word salvation
is the Greek word
soterion,
which means
it brings deliverance.
It brings preservation.
It brings safety
from something
that's dangerous
and deadly.
In fact,
the same word,
soterion,
this idea of salvation,
is used
in the Greek translation
of the Old Testament,
Exodus 14, 13,
when Moses is standing
by the Red Sea
and all of the nation
of Israel
is behind him
up against the Red Sea
and the chariots
and the horsemen
of Egypt
are mowing down,
coming down
to mow them down.
And Moses stands
and says,
stand by,
says to Israel,
and you will see
the what?
The salvation
of the Lord.
In other words,
the deliverance
of the Lord,
the rescue
of the Lord.
Pharaoh's chariots
were pushing down
on them.
They were doomed
to be massacred.
They'd already endured
the whip of Egypt.
Now they were going
to have the sword
of Egypt run
through them.
But Moses takes
this pathetic looking
wooden staff
and he shows
the way,
the one way
of salvation,
the one way
of deliverance
that's going to be
blown open
by the Lord.
You see that picture
there of that
nation of people
standing before
this vast army
that's going to
mow them down
and massacre them.
This is kind of
a depiction
of the whole race
of humanity
standing in a
doomed state.
You ever watch
Lord of the Rings?
Tolkien?
Battle of Helm's Deep?
You ever see
the orcs?
And then the horsemen
coming down
led by Gandalf?
This is a picture
from Revelation 19.
And the Lord Jesus
will return
with all the hosts
of heaven
to mow down
not the orcs
but all of sinful
humanity.
That's us.
Do you see your face
in one of those orcs?
This is what is happening.
We are all in a doomed
state to be mowed down
by the hosts of heaven.
But with the gospel
of the apostle Paul
there is the one way
of escape
the one salvation.
Jesus said
I am the way
the truth
and the life.
No man comes
to the Father
except through me.
So listen
Paul is coming to Rome
and the sinners of Rome
were in a desperate situation.
They too
all of those inhabitants
of Rome
they are going to be destroyed
by the righteous legions
of God.
They need to see
the salvation
of the Lord
and Paul is bringing
the gospel staff
like Moses
opening the way
of deliverance
and so Paul is saying
why should anyone
be ashamed?
Why should I blush
or be embarrassed
about showing
these people in Rome
the one way
to escape
in safety?
They are all doomed.
I am bringing good news.
I am not ashamed
of the gospel
because it is
the power of God
for salvation.
I am going to keep
pacing forward
to what God
called me to do
to that leper colony
in Rome
that is doomed.
So Paul's gospel
competence
is reasoned
because it announces
salvation.
Secondly
I am not ashamed
of the gospel
because it contains
great power.
Look it says
for it is the power
of God
for salvation.
The word power
is dunamis
which means
strength,
ability.
You've heard
the word dynamite.
That's what it's from.
Dynamite brings
punch
and so
this staff
that he has
has power
in it.
You see
Paul had seen
the gospel
take down
giant Goliath
sinners
like himself.
Acts chapter 9
he was a Goliath.
He was
persecuting
the church
and what happened
to him
on the Damascus road
he was taken down
by the gospel
in Acts chapter 9
and on the island
of Cyprus
the pro-council
on Cyprus
was taken down
by the gospel
and in Acts 16
the Philippian jailer
was taken down
by the gospel
and the Corinth
synagogue leader
in the 18th chapter
was taken down
by the gospel
and listen to this
in 1 Corinthians 6
all kinds of people
murderers,
adulterers,
homosexuals
were taken down
by the gospel.
Didn't Rosaria Butterfield
write about the secrets
of an unexpected convert?
She was taken
the gospel
can save
it's powerful
it has power
to it.
John Murray says this
the gospel
is the omnipotence
of God
operative in salvation.
Charles Hodd
says this
the gospel
is that
through which
God exercises
his power.
But in what sense
does the gospel
have power in it?
Is it that there
somehow power
in the little ink
and the page
that is here?
No, no, no, no.
It's not that
the page
and the ink
has power.
Paul
writes there
in 1 Thessalonians
1.5
the gospel
does not come to you
in word only
but in power
he says
in the presence
of the spirit.
You see
the message
of the gospel
declares
and it unleashes
power
shielding anybody
who believes
from the wrath
to come.
D. Martin
Lloyd-Jones
ever hear of him?
This is your pastor
talking about
D. Martin
Lloyd-Jones.
Lloyd-Jones
was the queen's
physician.
He was a doctor
and he talks
about how
when he was a doctor
he would give
people a prescription
scribble it down
on a scrap of paper
that was to be
taken to the pharmacist
so that the
sick person
would get well.
Now was there power
in that little
piece of paper
and the ink
on the scratching?
No, no power at all
but the reality
is that
when it was
taken to the pharmacy
and the pharmacy
gave the
toxic
or excuse me
the tonic
and it was taken
in, it was ingested
it brought health
and likewise
this gospel
when we believe
in the realities
of the gospel
when we take it
into our souls
by believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ
the Holy Spirit
unleashes
a power
that imputes
a righteousness
Jehovah said
can you
his righteousness
is given to us
and then the spirit
of God gives
not only an imputed
righteousness
but an imparted
righteousness
with a new birth
that gospel
is the power
of God
unto salvation
so Paul says this
I am
I am not ashamed
of this prescription
that I carry
in my pocket
this gospel
because I know
what it can do
I know what it's done
for me and others
and I know
what it can do
for that leper colony
of Rome
this great city
that I'm approaching
right now
and though multitudes
may laugh at my message
and call me a stupid man
with a crumpled note
yet the apostle
is convinced
like it says
in 1 Corinthians
1
for the word
of the cross
is to those
who are perishing
foolishness
but to us
who are being saved
it is the power
of God
for it's written
I will destroy
the wisdom
of the wise
and the cleverness
of the clever
where is the wise man
where is the scribe
where is the debater
of this age
has not God
made the foolish
things of the world
wisdom
for since the wisdom
of God
the world
through its wisdom
did not come
to know God
God
was well pleased
through the foolishness
of the message
preached
to save
those who believe
so we are
bringing the gospel
to this area
of Denver
because it contains
great power
but also
because it saves
all kinds
it saves
all kinds
look to the Jew
first
and then also
to the Greek
this is summarized
to the Jew
first
because
it would come
to the Jews
who they knew
of a high priest
and a scapegoat
and a lamb
and a Passover
and Paul could preach
about blood
when it's smeared
in the doorpost
of your soul
the wrath of God
Passover
and the Jew
it's just
it's like
an olive branch
put back
in its original stock
but there can be
a foreign olive branch
maybe not like
a Palestinian olive branch
but maybe
an Italian olive branch
even for Gentiles
who Gentiles
they don't have
those categories
where the gospel
fits right in
like the Jew
who can be saved
but even for the Gentile
who has categories
like not high priest
and day of atonement
they have the idea
of Zeus
and Poseidon
and Hermes
and strange
pagan stories
but even
their souls
can be engrafted
into the saving stock
because the gospel
has the power
to make them alive
in Christ Jesus
the gospel can save
not only
whitewashed tombs
of Jews
who were
outward in their righteousness
but even open
cesspools
of unbelievers
who were
homosexuals
and thieves
and murderers
and adulterers
see the gospel
is the power of God
for salvation
first for the Jew
and also for the Greek
and there's nobody here
who ain't a Jew
who ain't a Greek
one of those two
you're one of those two
that is Gentile
it's able to save
all
so
this is
what we have
in Paul's
gospel confidence
reason
but now
with the time remaining
just consider
Paul's gospel confidence
applied
consider how we can
apply this
to Christian
witnesses
remember
last words
of our Savior
in
Acts chapter 1
you're to be
my witnesses
to Jerusalem
Jumea
Samaria
all the most parts
of the earth
see all of us
are to be witnesses
we're to be
preaching the gospel
wherever we go
Chris may be
a principal
he's shrewd as a serpent
innocent as a dove
he's preaching there
and
our brother
Uriel
may be a carpenter
but he is to
find a way
to preach the gospel
there
and you think
well
you know how rough
these carpenters are
they're like Goliaths
they ain't gonna pay
attention to me
oh man
you got a sling
in your hand
Uriel
don't be ashamed
of the gospel
preach the gospel
of truth
but you may say
you know there are
some people
do you realize
there are some people
Jason
who say that
pastors are the ones
like the apostles
they were the ones
who were told
to be witnesses
so you're the guy
who's supposed
and all these people
can comfort themselves
in saying
are pastors the guy
who's supposed
to take the gospel
besides that
we're reformed
don't put a guilt
complex on us
for not preaching
the gospel
because our pastor
will do it
or besides that
God
God elected
before the foundation
of the world
those who would
be believed
and don't put it
on us
listen
the apostle Paul
is the one
who in Romans
chapter 9
spoke of
Esau
I have hated
and Jacob
I have loved
he knew about election
but he said
that
oh I would
that I myself
would be accursed
if my countrymen
would be saved
so he brought
the gospel
brought the gospel
listen
do not take
the doctrines
of grace
as some kind
of a Novocaine
that anesthetizes
and numbs
your shrieking
conscience
when you're silent
didn't we say
in the Sunday school
class
he who
life and death
and the power
of the tongue
and the best life
we can bring to people
is by bringing to them
the gospel
of the Lord Jesus
Christ
and don't
don't think
yeah but if I
if I speak
in
my family context
or in my
professional context
they're going to think
I'm just some
some hokey
hilly billy
with this silly idea
you believe
the dead are raised
you've got to be
kidding me
you're trying to be
the court jester
of the Denver suburbs
well the reality is
we are not ashamed
of the gospel
it is the power
of God
for salvation
speak that word
there's an account
given
of a
man
whose name was
Howell Harris
it's in Dallimore's
biography of
Whitefield
and it was said
of a
very prominent
man in the
community
back in
England
it was said
of Howell Harris
that he was
a dice playing
drinking
gossiping
love making
fop
of a man
he was a dandy
everybody thought
he was
all that
in his culture
and society
but then
he came into
a church
on a
Palm Sunday
and he heard
the pastor
say this
if you're not
fit to come
to the Lord's
table
you're not
fit to live
and you're
not fit
to die
and that
little pebble
from the
sling of that
pastor
hit him
right in the
forehead
and it
staggered him
and he went
home
and within
three days
he fell
at the feet
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
by the power
of the gospel
what I'm saying
is listen
you don't need
to bring to
someone
Uriel
the whole
all of the
systematic
theology
because sometimes
we say
I don't have
time to give
the whole gospel
to somebody
sometimes it's
just one
pebble of truth
that we're
speaking
we're always
speaking seasoned
with salt
and everything
that we say
and maybe
it's just a
matter of
you're sitting
outside of a
construction facility
and you've got
your brown bag
and he's got
his brown bag
and you say
you know
why don't you
come to my
church on
Sunday
and the person
says ah
you know
it would be
so creepy
for me
I feel so
guilty
to go to
church on
Sunday
I'm just
going to
stay away
and he laughs
laughs
and maybe
Uriel
just says
this
well you know
if you're
not fit
to come to
church on
a Sunday
you're not
fit to live
and you're
not fit
to die
and that's
it
a little
piece
of the gospel
and that
gnarly
faced
construction
worker
within hours
can be
fallen at
the foot
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ
so this
is this
is for
Christian
witnesses
isn't it
but also
this is
for Christian
ministers
and Jason
other men
who may be
elders in
this place
don't be
ashamed of
the gospel
MacArthur
long ago
wrote a book
ashamed of
the gospel
he talked
about a
generation of
ministers who
are cowed
and intimidated
by a
sophisticated
society
but people
are unwilling
to give
the old
biblical
gospel
because it's
unsophisticated
there's even
been something
recently
there's this
winsome
third way
ism
there are
people who
say
don't preach
the rough
edges of the
gospel to
people because
you'll offend
them
you'll turn
them off
don't talk
about the
absolutes of
the gospel
give the soft
sides of the
gospel
get them saved
and tell them
the tough
stuff later
don't talk
about
one pastor
would say
I never
preach about
abortion
or I don't
preach about
sexuality
or transgenderism
or homosexuality
and I try not
to use the
H word
the hell word
because some
people might
be offended
by that
you realize
that the
gospel has
certain bitter
elements of
it
you think of
even the
idea of
remember
COVID
and think
if it was
true that
if people
had O
positive
blood
and were
diabetics
that they
would die
for sure
maybe you
had a son
or maybe
your wife
had died
because she
had O
positive
and she
was a
diabetic
and she
had COVID
and she
was going
to die
but then
you
had gone
to a
Latvian
nutritionist
who had
a certain
formula
for health
and the
formula was
a prescription
that had
in it
listen to
this
certain herbs
sneeze
wart
toad flax
and goose
foot
embarrassing
stuff
but
your
wife
took it
and she
she survived
she lived
then let's
say
three weeks
later you
were in
the mall
here in
Denver
and you
saw someone
wheeling
the sun
you say
oh he
looks
he looks
like he's
very sick
yes he's
oh positive
diabetic
and he only
has maybe
hours to
live
I just
want him
to see
certain
things
that are
pleasant
and you
have in
your pocket
the
ingredients
of
of sneeze
wart
toad flax
and goose
fit
but but
you don't
want to
give it
because you're
so afraid
some pastors
are like
that
we need
to be
willing to
preach the
whole
counsel of
God
may it
be that
that this
church
as it
brings the
gospel
that it
would not
seek
and in
Holland
Michigan
there was
Hope College
was the
Christian
college
in order
to get a
place at the
cool table
at Hope College
you had to be
with it
and winsome
in culture
and society
and if you gave
hard things
then you were
one of those
old Neanderthals
or the Holland
Sentinel
I could print an
article in the
Holland Sentinel
as long as I was
nice and sweet
and kind
but if I ever
talked about
the judgment of
God
and the need
for repentance
they wouldn't
print my article
don't be like
that here
in Denver
be faithful
in preaching
the gospel
do not
be ashamed
of the gospel
but also
there's a word
here not only
to Christian
witnesses
and to
Christian ministers
but there's also
a word here
to doubting
saints
to doubting
saints
and by that
I mean
sometimes
this being
ashamed of the
gospel
doesn't only
undermine
our own
evangelism
sometimes
it undermines
our faith
in our souls
being ashamed
of the gospel
because
you know
the deceiver
is ever about
he shoots
fiery darts
to set our
souls ablaze
and fever us
so that we'll
discontinue
believing the gospel
let me give you
a little
confession
I was watching
the History Channel
a while back
and it was about
the Great Wall
of China
and all the
centuries
of Chinese
history
and China
is Hindu
and there's
Confucianism
there
and there's
Taoism
there
all kinds
of religion
and I admit
as I watched
that I thought
to myself
really
I believe
that Jesus
of Nazareth
must be believed
by everybody
in the globe
if they're to be
saved
everybody
and I began
to think
wow
is that really
true
because there's
this vast
culture
they knew
nothing of
Jesus
could God
have ever
left them
in such
darkness
this must
be really
silly
and in this
fiery dark
thought
how foolish
and naive
you are
to think
that all
the world
has to believe
in a Jewish
carpenter
come on
Mark
my mind
was fevered
with disbelief
come on
Mark
born of a
virgin
come on
Mark
in a stable
with shepherds
and angels
come on
Mark
a Galilean
teacher
who was
barely a
blip
in secular
history
he was
nailed
to a
Roman
cross
and his
resurrection
verified
that he
was the
real deal
but who
verified
it
his own
disciples
you believe
that nonsense
Mark
is he ablaze
that was a
dumpster fire
of unbelief
you ever have
moments of
unbelief
like that
I do
but to come
back and
and to take
this passage
like this
and remove
the dart
of this
lie
by this
passage
by the
pliers
pull it
out
and say
I am
not ashamed
of the
gospel
it's
the power
of God
for
salvation
come on
you're real
where else
are we going
to go
Christ
alone
has the
will
where else
shall we
go
resist the
devil
he will
flee from
you
to doubting
saints
the power
of the
gospel
don't be
ashamed
of it
and don't
be ashamed
lastly
just to
lost
sinners
to
lost
sinners
you know
you might
be thinking
this is the
gospel
yeah I've
heard it
and I know
listen I
believe I was
saved in
1976
but you know
what
I need to
keep believing
the gospel
and listen
you believe the
gospel right now
today
I don't care
if it's the
first time
you've
believed
or the
10,000th
and first
time you
believed
believe
the gospel
right here
I believe
our
paths
have crossed
for a
purpose
somebody
here
I hear
even
but others
here
need to
hear the
gospel
there's
somebody
here in
an unconverted
state
you know
people have
this idea
of the
gospel
it's just
all sweet
God loves
you and has
a wonderful
plan for
your life
is that the
gospel Paul
wrote in
Romans
he begins
not with
God loves
you and has
a wonderful
plan for
your life
he begins
with this
the wrath
of God
is revealed
against the
unrighteousness
and ungodliness
of men
who suppress
the truth
and unrighteousness
listen the truth
the truth of the
matter is
you apart from
the Lord Jesus
Christ
you are in
desperate
trouble
you are part
of
a vast
race
of humanity
you and I
left to
ourselves
are orc
like
I'm telling
you that
the hosts
of heaven
are going to
be led by
a rider
who has a
sword coming
out of his
mouth
he will
slay all
of his
enemies
they're coming
for you
and your
never dying
soul
and you
and I
left to
ourselves
will be
thrown into
the lake
of fire
which is a
place
which is
not a
happy
place
it's a
place
where we
will
weep
and wail
because we
cannot bear
another
moment
of the
pain
and sorrow
but we
will gnash
our teeth
because we
know that
we must
endure it
for eternity
and I'm
just saying
the Lord
Jesus Christ
is able to
save all
kinds
anyone
believe in
the Lord
Jesus and
you will be
saved
you need to
right now
take
take the
the blood
coming to
this table
this is the
blood
that is
emblemized
here
you must
take the
blood and
smear it in
the door
post of
your soul
so that
when those
angels
come
there's a
passage
in the
prophets
where it
speaks of
they're
coming
and they're
seeing
men who
have a
mark on
their forehead
and angels
coming down
to destroy
and with a
rope in
their hand
to lasso you
and pull you
and throw you
like a fire
but if you
have the
blood of the
lamb
smeared in
your door
post it
says they
will pass
over you
they'll look
at you
and say
you are
not a
son of
Satan
you are
a brother
of Christ
and a
child of
the king
I'll see
you soon
in eternal
glory
and they'll
ride on
you need
the blood
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
you need
the blood
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
made on
your soul
believe
this hour
in the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
and you
will be
saved
may that
be like
that little
pebble
take it
contemplate
it
consider it
and fall
at the
feet
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
while
we're
eating
and drinking
be praying
and believing
in the
Lord
Jesus
let's
close
with a
word
of
prayer
our
father
we
thank
you
for
the
gospel
we
thank
you
that
it's
the
power
of
God
for
salvation
and we
ask that
this
would be
the day
of
salvation
for
a soul
here
and may
for the
rest of
us
may it
be
spurring
us
on
to
serve
you
with
all of
our
heart
and
strength
and soul
we pray
in Jesus
name
amen
good
s