Called To Be - Part 4 (Romans 1:1-6)

church family uh romans chapter one romans chapter one in our study as you guys well know we are back at it romans chapter one and verses one through six this will be our fourth week in these six verses people are asking are we gonna speed up i think we're going pretty quick as it is right now no there'll be times there'll be ebb and flow of of our pace but my intentions are to be in this book when jesus christ returns so we'll be here as long as it takes or as short as it takes we'll see romans chapter one i'll open up with verse one if you'll read on the screens or out of the new king james version bible you pick it up in verse two romans chapter one i begin verse one paul the bond servant of jesus christ called to be an apostle separated to the gospel of god concerning his son jesus christ our lord who was born of the seed of david according to the flesh through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name and all god's people said amen you can be seated church well charles spurgeon gave a tremendous quote and i want to read it to you it's deep it's old english but it is textbook charles spurgeon and truth spurgeon said his divine plan is independent of time do not dream christian that the ages have changed so that in this day god cannot be or do his mighty works beloved if you can conceive of an age that is worse than another i think we would all say our time is the worst that's how it feels so much the more is it a fit platform for a heavenly energy the more difficult the more room for omnipotence to show himself there is elbow room for the great god when there is some great thing in the way some great difficulty that he may overturn says spurgeon well the great difficulty regarding the soul of man was man having his sin removed from him that every single one of us in the hearing of this message today we can all agree even the atheist right now can agree that there is some psyche there's some there's some torment regarding what is right and wrong believer or unbeliever alike there is a dilemma that plagues the human heart that in us there is this shame from what we've done wrong and we try to hide that we try to manipulate that we try to drink that burden away or we try to somehow seek enough pleasure to mask it but it remains nonetheless in the book of romans is this book of the bible that ought to be read by everybody all the time the christian listen is admonished to know this book constantly we should whatever we're embarked upon in our normal christian development we should always be dabbling in the book of romans and if you're not a christian today i want to lay this out to you i i put this challenge before you don't be afraid if you're not a christian what do you you don't have to be afraid right you don't believe in god so so take up this challenge read the book of romans so i don't believe in god then read the book of romans and i believe that if you read the book of romans as a full-blown highly developed atheist you may come to faith in god and i'll tell you the reason why you open the book of romans and you're going to find out that the god that you think doesn't exist is the god that's speaking to you about sin and about heaven and about hell and about redemption and about damnation and about eternity and he'll be the god that will say to you i came because i love you i'm god i died on the cross i rose again from the dead and the book of romans tells you that you cannot hide behind any moral performance you cannot hide behind any self uh grandizement program or some 12 steps to making yourself better it strips all of it away until you're standing there looking at the cross of christ and the god of salvation the book of romans is so powerful and god calls you to be his child he looks to you to be one of his and though for many of us we are already followers of christ it's my prayer that you know him today even more and for the non-believer to come to know that he is the god of all salvation church we looked at last time being called the number one fact that we saw in verse one was god has called you and i to be a new man paul made that announcement three ways that you and i as believers have been brought under a greater authority we saw that we saw secondly that it's with a greater commissioning that god not only saves you to come under this listen the the authority of jesus christ where he is our master and we are his slave but with that comes a great commissioning that there's a great joy that's found out that you and i as slaves to jesus we replicate that news we tell other people about it we tell them when we uh invite them that we've got a tremendous relationship to share and then we also saw in that first point that being separate under the gospel of god that we have come for a greater purpose a greater purpose god has engineered for us in our previous study our last time together church we saw and point number two that we've got a new voice that god has given us a new voice as a believer look at verse two it says that which he has promised before through the prophets in the holy scriptures he's talking about the word of salvation the gospel of grace concerning his son jesus christ our lord who was born of the seed of david according to the flesh and that truth means friends and family that we as christians do not go around telling people what we think and what we feel we are to go about with our new voice telling people what we listen three things what we experience and that is we know what we believe say amen to that as believers we know what it is that we believe as christians it's not what we feel it's what god has announced and we saw that he gave that to us by speaking previously beforehand says the bible that god gave a promise of how he would reach us isaiah chapter 46 verse 10 is a verse we looked at and the bible tells us there that it is god the god of the bible and i love this that it's he declaring the end from the beginning just right there ought to cause you to sit up that the god of the bible says i'm going to tell you the end at the beginning i like that stuff for those of us who are impatient that's really good news right we sign up hey god this is great how does it end i told you guys before when i got saved the first book in the bible i read when i got saved was i figured out i know they told me to read john's gospel but i figured i don't know i'm going to go to the end of the book because i'm impatient and i read the book of revelation it's the first book i read and it's awesome because if you don't know what to expect it's fantastic because the book just screams at you the awesomeness of god but god says i know the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done sane or promising my counsel shall stand and i will do all my pleasure and it's awesome to realize that the pleasure of god is the salvation of your soul that delights god's heart and we saw that you and i speak what we know secondly we know this is the fact that we speak what we hear when you and i open up the word of god the word of god speaks to us he says that he spoke to us by the prophets in the holy scriptures right there that verse announces to all of us that god's word the bible actually challenges you to attack it you think about that i was just recently uh reading where voltaire the great thinker mocked and ridiculed the concept and the idea of god and he was the great know-it-all of his day and age and voltaire he said soon within a lifetime the belief in god will be extinct and it's interesting because within a lifetime the bible rolled off the first gutenberg press and that opening door allowed the bible to be known and read even to this moment right now i love that vault here the great thinker was wrong god was right god is always right and then we saw last time and this is where we ended by the way is that you and i have a new voice because we speak what we've learned and it's all about verse 3 concerning his son jesus christ our lord the bible announces to us that god has given us his son that god in the bible has spoken that he has a son that his son listen his son would become as we'll see in a moment veiled in human flesh that his son would be deposited into this world for the entire and absolute act of the redemption of mankind and i don't know why we resist that as humans why do we kick against that no matter who you might be is it not true that until you come to know jesus death is the great worrisome plague of your life let's be honest we've got to be honest what is the great danger in the great plague of the human soul it is death i'll submit to you this morning that everything that drives man and whatever he does is for this purpose my life's going to come to an end remember way back i don't know i think it was in the 70s or 80s the bumper stickers they were so ridiculous they were so humanistic he who dies with the most toys look out for number all this stuff i see there's about seven of us here from the 70s that's probably good news it was all about self grab all the gusto you can it's look out for number one i've got to get all the toys so that by the time i die i win what a dumb thing that is no listen the fear of death has plagued men from the beginning and people want to find fault with jesus christ that believe in god in the bible and yet it answers the greatest plague of the human heart that christ came to save sinners and therein is the problem isn't it the grave has no power over the person who has come to find life in jesus christ but to do that we must recognize that we are sinners and he's savior that's the big stumbling block isn't it it really is and so church we pick it up as we look at this that you and i in our next argument is found in verse 4. he says there and declared to be the son of god with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead so the third point is this you and i are called to a new power and i want you to take advantage of of your note taking and the margins of your bible write this we're talking about a power that is of god oh please i don't know how to put this across i'm i'm at a great disadvantage because of my in my inability to communicate to you this truth that in human effort we try to muster the power to do it everything about us is that you must roll up your sleeves and get it done and i understand that look if you're building a bridge i get it if you're going to launch a rocket to mars then roll your sleeves up and go for it it makes sense in every aspect of life but when it comes to you and i experiencing what god has planned for you and i regarding eternity we need a new power because you and i don't have it we don't have that kind of power and when we talk about this power where does it lie where is the strength of the believer where's the strength in the christian life here it comes the strength of the christian life is in the message that god has sent us that god has given us it's the message it's absolutely awesome it's the message you see don't you mean it's the holy spirit well yes of course i believe it's the holy spirit but the holy spirit communicates to us salvation and life and meaning by the message the holy spirit uses the message and look at this what he does he declares to us the holy spirit does that jesus christ is the son of god the word declared here is a great word it it means uh to mark off it means to set a boundary the word means a predetermined or premeditated appointment to announce something so church family listen up it's god's will regarding you knowing his power that you understand the message and what does the christian message say the christian message announces that god with a premeditated determination has declared jesus christ to be the son of god it speaks from eternity that god knew that god existed that god engineered that the plan of god this whole thing man i don't i don't mean to be light about this and i don't want to make it sound funny but you and i are here right now living out this moment in time and yet god is not surprised by anything that happens today he's anticipated it he knew your life before you got out of bed this morning that you would make it here by whatever means you did if you came by airplane car or scooter god knew it and he's anticipated it the premeditated mindset of god was i'm here to reach you this morning in this church at this moment or through this broadcast that it's the will of god and this is not an accident can i say it this way it's all rigged [Applause] it's all set up [Music] it's rigged what do you mean it's rigged you think your friends bribed you and come in here did you think they told you hey let's go to the restaurant tomorrow morning after church that probably won't be open and uh and uh and if it is you'll have to eat through your mask and and so we'll and you know what we'll we'll go hey and you said yeah i want a free meal so i'll go no listen you thought you were manipulating the moment you thought your friends were manipulating the moment not at all listen god knew he knew he knew all along he knew listen he knew about last night that whatever went on last night caused you to say i think i'm going to church tomorrow he knew that the whole year the whole month the whole moment god knew that he declared and this is the message that jesus christ is the son of god and he did this with power our message is that jesus christ has come and it's even listen it's even more powerful than that because when we define it church are you listening when we define it it is the fact that jesus christ came as god incarnate when you want to know what god looks like and sounds like and what god speaks god took upon himself skin and that manifestation is the son of god jesus the second person of the holy trinity i'm going to give you a string of verses are you ready oh my goodness that was pathetic let's let's we'll edit it so you for radio so you guys will sound amazing okay so three two one are you guys ready for this i bet you are john chapter 1 verse 14 and the word became flesh and dwelt among us the word the bible tells us there is the logos of god none other than jesus christ listen luke 1 verse 30 then the angel said to her do not be afraid mary for you have found favor with god and behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son no this brings forth a son premeditated and shall call his name jesus the angel is telling mary what you're going to name this boy he will be great and he will be called the son of the highest look listen listen uh you may be loved by your mom and she may have pictures of you all over your all over her house but you are not the son of the highest that applies to one my friend that is an attribute of god's son and no other and the lord god will give him the throne of his father david jesus was a direct genealogical line of david according to the bloodstream which qualifies him to be the messiah of israel by the way verse 33 and he will reign over the house of jacob forever forever and of his kingdom there will be no end that's the jesus of the bible that's the son of god eternal premeditated christ come that's the god we worship that's the one we know oh on this is my favorite in my notes i have a holy huddle for sure see what does that mean because when i read you this verse i can see in my mind a huddle from heaven with angels huddled about mary's about ready to give birth it's just about the moment of christmas to be brought into the world mary's in labor the baby is coming and in first timothy 3 16 the bible tells us without question or without debate without argument without doubt this is the great mystery of our faith christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the spirit watch this he was seen by angels see the word seen it means that the angels watched him be born they gather now i mean though so they'll do respect mary probably giving birth as a hebrew woman would have you know they squatted in those days they didn't lay down she squatted down to give birth to baby jesus and the angels gathered about in the invisible realm and it says here that he was seen by angels the word means that angels had big eyes and a big mouth wide-eyed and open mouth gok the word means to god the angels who quite possibly have never seen jesus before because the bible says when angels appear before god in heaven what does it say isaiah tells us they veil their body with one set of their wings with the other set of the wings they fly in his presence they have three sets of wings and with the third set of wings they cover their face in his presence is it possible that when god was becoming incarnate into this world the birthing of jesus christ that the angels showed up at the birth moment to see for the first time the one that created them coming as a human the bible says that he made him a little lower than the angels you and i have been created a little lower than the angels and jesus came into our estate to die for us i don't mean to bash angels but angels cannot be redeemed they're unredeemable jesus came as a man as a human and died on the cross for the sins of humanity to redeem us he was seen by angels and announced to the nations he was believed on throughout the world and taken at his back taken back to heaven and glory in luke chapter 2 verse 10 then the angel said to them do not be afraid for behold i bring you good tidings of great joy which will be all people for there is born to you this day in the city of david as savior who is christ the lord and suddenly there was with the angel a mighty or a multitude of a heavenly host praising god saying glory to god in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men this is who was born in bethlehem this is the son of god this is not some this is not some manifestation of an order of enlightened ones and you too can become god no this is the one and only philippians chapter 2 verse 8 tells us that he was found being found in appearance as a man i love that slave you want to know why because you and i when we're born we're born naturally in the appearance of a man mankind the appearance of mankind any of you are you know don't be offended by that it says man okay get over it it's mankind mankind like humankind you and i had no choice when we were born in this world we were brought into this world as humankind because that's what we are for god to become humankind amen oh that's something different colossians chapter 1 verse 15 says he is the image of the invisible god declared to be the son of god with power i'm going to give you quite a few more verses but then we'll be on with this see jack i don't know if i believe all this well let's look at the science the old testament prophets promised proclaimed in psalm 2 verse 7 i will declare the decree the lord has said to me you are my son today i have begotten you or glorified you that's what the old testament said well isn't it interesting that the new testament apostles recorded the following in hebrews 1 verse 5 they understood psalm 2 verse 7 to say in hebrews 1 5 for to which of the angels did he ever say you are my son today i have begotten you see the uniqueness of christ and again i will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son that's taken right out of the old testament friends and the new testament apostles acknowledge that again the old testament prophets proclaimed in psalm 97 verse 7 let all be put to shame who serve carved images who boast of idols worship him all ye gods i love that can you imagine all the gods who are made out of images they're mad at stones and wood and the bible says you better bow your knee well you can't bow the knee of an idol oh yeah you can you have to break them that's how an idol bows you break their knee and the bible says worship him but listen the bible tells us that the new testament authors looked at hebrews 1 verse 6. but when he again brings the firstborn into the world he says let all the angels of god worship him this is jesus the old testament prophets proclaimed and i and uh excuse me psalm 45 verse 6 your throne o god is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom look at hebrews 1 8 but to the son he says your throne o god is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom do you see that listen the science is this the old testament said that this is the son of god and the new new testament says that's exactly right that's exactly what happened now that only leaves you open for your opinion don't you love this i know now look maybe i've been overwhelmed by this and maybe i've duped myself if i am duped let me alone leave me be but when the bible says thousands of years ago this is who the messiah the son of god is and then 2 000 years ago come the apostles and they say oh my goodness those thousands and thousands of year old prophecies that we read about also like you guys would in the 21st century we were eyewitnesses to the fulfillment of those promises that doesn't listen that doesn't make it an issue of faith so much for me as it is looking at the facts and acquiescing to that embracing them well you christians man you know you create well what about us listen we've been persuaded we've been convinced because i believe it is absolutely proof positive that you can argue the existence of god when god says this three thousand years ago and then it happens and it's eyewitness recorded that leaves you with your own opinion or it leaves you bowing the knee to the great fact that god has come to us and has spoken to us what a beautiful joy that is and what a great fact it is there's a new power and that power listen is powered by the source look at verse 4 according to the spirit of holiness this is amazing this is the holy spirit as believers you and i have a new power and that new power is by the holy spirit and notice that he's the holy spirit the spirit of holiness simply a reference to the holy spirit in our lives and if you care like you know write this down the source of our power the power source is in fact the holy spirit the bible says as we're speaking of christ the bible says the holy spirit is a person i think the holy spirit is the least understood person of the trinity the holy spirit it's unfortunate you know he's the one he's the one that's responsible for the church the last 2000 years it's his job to get you and i to heaven did you know that jesus was born jesus lived jesus died jesus rose again from the dead jesus went back to heaven for the last two thousand years the holy spirit's been here making and building his church his bride but you and i are not to do this work on our own church the source mark it down please it's the book of acts chapter 1 verse 8 you know this well jesus said you shall receive what's the word power when the holy spirit comes upon you wow and you shall be witnesses to me in jerusalem and all of judea and sumerian to the uttermost or the ends of the earth the holy spirit's power for those of us that are in this room today and we think that we are the least usable by god that he would never use us we're thinking he's going to use somebody else god is speaking to you about his power right now this morning i mean it i'm not just saying this because i'm supposed to say this you might be here today said man you know what pastor jack you know my friends witness my friends lead people to christ my friends feed the homeless my friends listen my dear friend you want to see the power of god and you want to know the source of the power say holy spirit use me holy spirit use me you know what that prayer never gets old i'm telling you right now i'll tell you guys i don't know if i'll tell second service at third service without saying so i think it was i think it was saturday saturday mid-morning something like that lisa and i were standing in downtown boston the boston commons the beautiful park the great green area that has been preserved for centuries and i i told lisa i said right here george whitfield stood right here and he preached to 30 000 people ben franklin said right here no microphone miraculous boom it said that sam adams at boston commons accepted christ as lord and savior ben franklin said when whitfield was preaching it's as though the whole nation was turning religious when whitfield was preaching and thousands of people were coming to christ and man i stood there on saturday and i said lord if i'm wrong forgive me but you gotta you gotta hear this but if you want to do something in the last few moments of world history at this time i'm i'm willing with all my inabilities and inadequacies i'm willing to be used like whitfield was used right here use me use me lord back home use me and you just ask you know what my life has been blessed so much and i gotta tell you here's the reason why i ask when you ask listen when you ask you're in need when you're in need you ask look when you're in need you walk around like this do you not when you're in need and god sees me as a beggar god if you don't god if you don't god if you don't if you don't show up if you don't bless if you don't lead if you don't guide i'm in trouble are you hearing me how about now we as a church body in fact just first service alone you ask god that and second and third service will say why doesn't that happen in second and third service like it does at first you ask and let god use you with the source of his power second corinthians 3 17 says now the lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the lord is there is liberty and that liberty is listen from all that you are and all that hinders god says i can use you so i'm scared but use me god i'm weak but use me god listen there's not an excuse you can offer up where god would say hey i can use that loves that salvation is the source salvation its source is the holy spirit powers the holy spirit sanctification is done by the holy spirit according to the spirit of holiness we could go on all day the keeping listen i love this the keeping power of god is the holy spirit how many of you are christians this morning raise your hands did you know that god is in contract with himself that the holy spirit is under orders to keep every true child of god in this room in route to heaven jude chapter 1 verse 24 jude 1 24 says now to him who is able hallelujah i'm not now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy power both now and forever amen god does that it's the holy spirit that's going to do that in your life i love that his power the third thing under this is the fact that in verse 4 teaches us that we're powered by the purpose that god has given us a purpose and here it is look at this verse 4 announces that it's by the resurrection from the dead i don't know how far we'll go after this portion of this verse because this is awesome the greatest as i mentioned earlier single most powerful reality is that jesus christ is risen from the dead you say oh man i heard that a thousand times listen you may have heard it a thousand times but the closer you get to death the more sweet it becomes see but jack i believe the bible but you're sure talking about a lot of power there where's that power today i understand the question dark clouds all around the world seem to be gathering over the faithful the world is seemingly becoming more and more hostile towards the christian and towards the bible and church and faith right we get that we see that you can look back and say oh my goodness it looks like it's all over it looks like the hours upon us that the the church has come to its end there's no hope but that's why i read you that quote from spurgeon at the beginning in the darkest hour when things seem to be impossible i love how spurgeon put it that there's elbow room for the omnipotent to do his work when things seem the darkest we all agree things seem dark in our back is up against the wall pastors are being arrested churches are being marginalized the churches that are closed have played right into the hand of the government and then the government is hunting down churches that are open ladies and gentlemen church family know this that behind the scenes is a spiritual battle and the gates of hell will not cannot will never prevail against the work of god it's impossible it's not going to happen and ultimately if we are marched off to the stake to be burned as many of the puritans were jesus christ is resurrected from the dead and our hope and assurance is resurrection from the dead jesus christ came back in acts chapter 2 verse 22 peter spoke up and said men of israel hear these words jesus of nazareth a man attested by god to you by miracles wonders and signs from which god did through him in your midst as you yourselves know him being delivered by the what determined purpose and foreknowledge of god it's all rigged jesus was to die on a certain day in jerusalem for the sins of the world but that doesn't excuse man from his decision you have taken by lawless hands and have crucified and put to death whom god raised up having loosed the pains of death hello because it was not possible that he should be held by it that is by death for david says concerning him and he quotes he goes on to quote psalm 16 verse 8. peter quotes psalm 16 verse 8. but i love this the very thing that causes you today to be ultimately gripped with concern jesus broke by being resurrected from the dead acts 13 verse 32 13 32 says and we declare to you glad tidings that promise which was made to the fathers that god fulfilled this for us their children in that he has raised up jesus resurrected jesus as it is also written in the second psalm you are my son today i have begotten you god says listen when christ rose again from the dead um how do i put this when jesus rose from the dead remember he was the man jesus being resurrected from the dead listen did he not die yes what part of him died the human part of him died right his body died but on the third day rose again from the dead he's our prototype he is our forerunner to guarantee us who believe in him that we too will rise from the dead that is speaking of the body your body laid in the ground will not stay in the ground that's good news let me tell you in romans 1 16 this is why romans 1 16 is so prevalent everywhere and it's more and more prevalent and i love it you see it on posters and stickers and articles for i am not ashamed of the gospel of christ what does that mean i am not ashamed of the good news the glad tidings that encompasses why christ came that he came and he paved the way for me to go to heaven he died for my sins and rose again from the grave and that he has absolutely busted hell and death i'm not ashamed of the gospel of christ for it is the power of god to the salvation or for salvation for everyone who believes number four in our study today number four is found in verses five through six and we're called to a new work i like this it's a new work of grace church look at verse 5 through him we have received grace and apostleship say jack come on man that's written to paul what about me no no no this is you you see the word we it's the third word over that's us through him we paul could have said through him all of us apostles through him all of us who people will paint in oil paintings and talk about in the future nope we all who trust christ watch this through him we have received grace and apostleship this speaks about divine enablement the word receive here means watch through him we have gathered collected picked up we've taken hold of we have obtained how do we obtain something through him you pick it up you get it you grab it the bible says this is ours possible now so you get you've gathered this to yourself you choose this god offers it you pick it up and you grab it grace the word grace charis is divine act god's divine act of favor so what is it that you're picking up you're picking up god's divine acts of favor his appointed kindness towards you his specific blessing upon your life the grace of god this is listen this is divine enablement meaning this that everything that god lays out before you you though you don't pay for it you don't provide you don't you don't empower it it's there but because you've created the image of god god is giving to the free moral agency of choice you got to grab it and pick it up see jack in any of that do i get the credit zero kind of like this it's kind of like the man who thinks he doesn't need god because he's got a hundred million dollars in the bank and he's young so he feels good okay he looks at himself in the mirror and he says wow look how good i look i've got a hundred million dollars in the bank i can do anything i want i'm gonna have lunch tomorrow in paris and i'll have dinner in rome and you know what i'm talking about no of course not you do not know this i don't know this and you don't know this but i'm making this up right now so just go along [Applause] try to convince that man that he needs god it's not going to happen try to convince him he is need of something he doesn't have need of anything and he knows it the enablement is that guy thinks his good looks got him somewhere and that his brain power got him that money and that that money is going to keep him safe and he thinks he doesn't have a reason to believe in god when in reality god gave him everything he has he walks around don't i look good well what are you gonna do when you look ugly aren't i rich what are you gonna do when you find out that your hundred million dollars cannot save you from your cancer what are you gonna do all of a sudden you realize wait a minute by the way you know this right the bible says a haughty a proud look and a haughty spirit god hates why because it's to walk around with your chest sticking out thinking that you did it you did nothing you did nothing and god loves you so much that you know what you might be walking along and feeling all so good and you feel a little pain or somebody sues you did you see in the news this week bill and melinda gates are divorcing and who's going to get these many billions and who's going to get these many billions they're going to divide it down the middle oh poor things little does bill gates know that everything that he has has been given to him by the god he doesn't believe in or the god that he doesn't even care to bow the knee to it's remarkable it's a work of grace people in our lives what a tremendous statement that is through him we have received gifted gifts god gives the gift of salvation he extends it and if you say well i believe it that's a gift your faith is a gift god's grace is a gift we take credit for nothing we cannot we're called to be a humble people a thankful people because we've received the gifts of god in life all the good things and certainly of course the gift of god's grace and he says here apostleship which is a fun word it means to be sent away it means that guts and you know as i said we're in that we're on our uh got an american heritage tour and uh look new england's beautiful it's very beautiful it's very meaningful spectacular but after about after about eight hours of rain i couldn't wait to get home i couldn't wait to get home but as i think about that god sends his people to places that in cultures and and worlds that maybe we wouldn't go to i mean you look at a new england winter and there's just no way but people listen god sent his people there we all we learned all about the pilgrims and we went to plymouth and we read the documents and the we heard the statements from centuries ago and they had to do it you know it was burning in them nobody nobody says hey excuse me you want to sign up it's going to be incredible we're getting shot at by indians half of us are going to die and it's going to be really rough for like 10 years but you know what we'll be able to believe and preach and read our bibles without the king's interruption of that in our lives we'll have religious freedoms you want to go and people left their comfortable church and they got on a 106 foot long ship which in the ocean looks like a toothpick at best and they came here for their freedoms because god was doing a work of grace he received they received his call of salvation and you know what god sent them away apostleship he said well that's good for them yeah well the word is to all of us god wants to send you away so pastor is that is that a message from the lord to me to move out of california maybe maybe not but if you're a believer i know this he's going to send you away if it's down the street or to the ends of the earth as as listen as one who is an apostleship one who's moving and going and taking this message it's a work of grace it's exciting also this it's a work of life verse 5 teaches us for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name see that's a mouthful it is a mouthful it's a difficult verse to interpret and to study for obedience to the faith simply this you and i have been persuaded that what god has put in our lives is worth telling other people what he's done in us is worthy of you and i telling all the nations you you probably already figured out what that word is you've heard it before already that word ethnos ethnicities the human race our witness is the point here and it's our listen our faith is to be our response to what god has done in our lives in ii corinthians listen we're almost done second corinthians chapter four verse seven says but we have this treasure i love this we have this treasure in earthen vessels what treasure yeah jesus the gospel we have this treasure in earth and vessels what's the earthen vessel my body your body you wonder how good god is you take a pot you know the little you know the little pot your kid makes at school comes they mold it in class and they put the little heart on it'll handle thing or maybe it's even the ashtray right when in doubt make it make an ashtray out of it that same that same ashtray is made out of the same elements you are your kid shapes the ashtray or the cup and god has shaped you the same elements are within us it's how you're shaped and all along your life's experience life has sought this fallen world has sought satan has sought to shape you and mold you into its image all the while god has sought to reach you with his gospel to mold you into his image and the world has done this to you and god has been quietly softly waiting and reaching out to you and it comes down to understanding what kind of life do you want to live you want to be alive unto god and see what he's going to do with your life and let him take control or you just want to sit there on the mantel or on the table like an ashtray same elements some people of course are not ashtrays but their life is about as exciting as one because they choose not to follow god and god says i want to give you life in second corinthians chapter 2 verse 15 church a few more verses were done here second corinthians 2 15 says listen to this for we are to god the fragrance of christ among those who are being saved as believers god goes like this oh every time they listen can you imagine can you imagine what if god says gabriel michael shh guys holy holy holy lord god almighty guys you seraphim and cherubim turn it down from listen to them they're singing down there at first service listen to them they're praising me listen oh it's a realm of life it's a realm of life for we are to god the fragrance of christ among those who are being saved listen to this and among those who are perishing to the one we are in aroma of death leading to death and to the other realm of life leading to life and who is sufficient for these things paul is saying we're just here to preach the gospel we love him and we're going to live our lives for him none of us are strong enough who's sufficient for this we're called to be operating in this world to share with every man woman boy and girl the love of god the salvation that comes through jesus christ who is sufficient this should be the business of angels who are way mere humans to say this that you can have your sins forgiven who are we to say that that christ rose again from the dead who are we he didn't send angels he sends us because another man another woman another boy or another girl can understand if god can forgive them he can forgive me it doesn't matter if an angel tells us our sins can be forgiven what does an angel know about us what can an angel experience the world an unbelieving world they smell you and you stink you are a wretched stench of death unto death one another we smell as an aroma and here's where we're in verse six it's a new work of confidence among whom you also are the called of jesus christ we're called by jesus so here's what does this mean to me where do you land this thought right here to the person who today is a believer hearing this message they're going yes and get that yep thank you god praise the lord then there's the person that is saying i've never heard this before and i think i need to do something about this what do i need to do about this you need to choose for yourself you need to decide if you're among those who christ is called do you want him now listen carefully do you want him because you don't want to go to hell well i get that i mean initially that makes sense sure that's maybe where you begin i don't want to go there okay the next thought has to be this do you understand that that's where you're going automatically without him see man that's kind of rude first service right no it's exactly the loving thing to say it's the loving thing to say because listen that immediately transcends it goes beyond the heaven or hell issue and it says this i need him it's not that i want to pick i want to pick this i want to pick that wait a minute when you hear this it's forget about what i pick i need him i need him desperately so what is it that you need about him that he saves me that he'll forgive me that he'll wash me clean he'll give me a new life yes and this will be your confidence friends this will be the confidence of yours for the rest of your life it's not what you it's not what you you do for god it's not that deception where you look at all the good things i've done and surely god has taken a notice of all the benevolent things i've done that is so repulsive to the christian it's disgusting because you know what every good thing that we've done we're not even sure if it was a good thing because the good stuff we did it could have probably been tainted by a bad a bad motive are you with me how many good things we do i'm going to do that thing and we do it and we're not sure if we did it for the right motive now watch some people say well that's why i'm not going to do anything no you can't do that we cannot know our hearts the bible says our hearts are desperately wicked listen you love god you do what he says because listen he loves you and he saved you and so you obey him because there's life in that and listen you give him your motive constantly here's the fun thing even if we did things with the wrong motive when we say lord forgive me if i did it with the wrong motive you be glorified in it and you get up and live if that happens in this first service the world will be transformed many of you live in different towns or cities you can go back to your locations and transform your community by getting involved because listen because christ has saved you you're going to be salt and light i leave you with this you are called of jesus christ to know his will for your life he wants you to know it you are called of jesus christ to know his purpose for your life he wants you to discover that you're called of jesus christ to know his joy for your life he's got it waiting for you you're called of jesus christ to know his desire for your life it's better than any desire you have for your life you're called of jesus christ to know his eternity his eternity in the end church we're going to stand before him and the bible tells us that our lives will be reviewed and the scripture says that as he responds in our lives by acknowledging what we've done in this in this world now it says that he's going to give us crowns i don't like that but i'm it sounds funny but it's okay listen crowns jesus you're going to give me a crown yes for every good thing you've done to my glory okay it's kind of weird i don't want to wear a crown watch why what do you want to do with that i want to throw it back at you i want to give it back to you oh jack let me finish the verse you'll be rewarded with a crown of righteousness which on the day we will turn it around and cast it back at him to give him all the glory father we praise you we love you god we thank you that any man or woman boy and girl right here right now would say yes to jesus yes lord come into my life yes lord save me from my sins yes lord thank you that you have called me god as my heart is awakened and stirred to put my faith in you oh god transform my life maybe you're here right now as we continue to pray and you're saying i want to know this i if this is true i want this life oh it is true friend but you've got to open the door you gotta open the door are you expecting hope to arrive are you expecting life to arrive how about forgiveness purpose are you expecting that to arrive listen when you're expecting something to arrive you know your your app tells you that your package is a mile away you get don't you don't you oh here it comes and you you see the trip pull up don't you and that guy runs to your front door if it's something that you really want don't you open the door you do that every day don't you but have you ever done it when jesus says behold i stand at the door and knock if anyone will open up on that man i will come into that person and become one with them sup eat become one fellowship share life whoever you may be right here right now you say yes to jesus if that's you today dear friends i'm not going to have you come forward at this moment the hour is late but i will ask you this as heads are bowed and eyes are closed i'm going to ask you to raise your hands if you're saying yes to this offer i would love for you to go back to the prayer room after the service and get a bible and be welcome to the family of god but the greatest thing now is the decision that you make father i pray for those who have raised their hands lord you've done a work in their hearts god we pray that you continue to stir them up and cause them lord as your spirit prompts them and speaks ever so gently but persistently father as they leave this building today may your overwhelming presence do to them what you've done to all of us you'll never leave them or forsake them transform them by the power of your word and above all things we thank you lord for giving us your holy spirit in jesus name we pray and all god's people said amen well hey thanks for listening and uh we appreciate you and of course we do in this time and in this age us being together and linking up together to get the word of god out is actually ministry being fulfilled and in fact if you would like to subscribe please do so hit the subscribe button tell your friends about us and listen if you'd like to help us get this out on a broader scale you can support us by hitting on the give now button and look we're going to continue on with or without you we're inviting you to join us no pressure but if you'd like to link arms in this venture you'd be greatly appreciated so listen keep praying for us we're praying for you god bless you and we'll see you back here real soon

Channel: Real Life with Jack Hibbs

Views: 76,521

Rating: 4.9360123 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: B9E7ukG_PcU

Length: 61min 11sec (3671 seconds)

Published: Sun May 09 2021