00:00:32.241 Good morning. Welcome, everyone, to Freedom Church.
00:00:35.900 I want to say welcome to everyone watching online as well.
00:00:40.400 I'm Pastor Eric, lead pastor here at Freedom Church.
00:00:43.330 And I want to start, before we jump into today's message, how many of you have ever
00:00:46.840 experienced something so good you had to tell somebody about it?
00:00:51.180 Anybody? The rest of you, come see me after. We're going to help you.
00:00:53.680 How many of you have ever been to a really good restaurant?
00:00:57.530 Anybody? How many of you have ever seen a really good movie that you should tell
00:01:01.440 other people, "Go watch this," right?
00:01:03.320 Or you got a really good deal or a discount on something.
00:01:06.630 Many times, we experience something good, we want to tell other
00:01:10.400 people. At bare minimum, we like it and we maybe repost it on
00:01:14.340 social media. But ultimately, inside of us, we want to tell other
00:01:18.200 people about good things that we've experienced, good places to eat,
00:01:22.280 good movies to watch, good things that we get to experience.
00:01:25.140 We want other people to experience those things as well.
00:01:29.340 And when something is good, we talk about it.
00:01:32.440 Yet sometimes the greatest news in the history of the world is
00:01:36.480 something we're hesitant to talk about.
00:01:38.980 The good news about Jesus Christ, the good news of
00:01:42.980 the gospel. Most of us, we know God, right?
00:01:46.300 We've experienced forgiveness. We've experienced His grace.
00:01:49.920 We've experienced freedom in Christ.
00:01:53.240 Yet we're most hesitant to talk about Jesus, when
00:01:57.080 we'd much more likely talk about a movie, a restaurant, or a deal we
00:02:00.780 found online. Why is that? Because much of the time
00:02:04.560 there's fear that creeps in, there's the feeling of being unequipped,
00:02:08.720 or maybe just we don't know what we're supposed to do and how.
00:02:11.300 Just like that bumper listing out all those things, but what if I'm not a
00:02:14.420 missionary? What if I'm not a pastor? What if I don't know how? What if I'm afraid?
00:02:18.680 I'm going to tell you to do it afraid anyways. Amen?
00:02:23.160 Paul writes this. Well, he says, "The gospel," this is the title for the
00:02:26.960 message, "The gospel is too good to keep quiet." Right?
00:02:30.760 That's what we're going to reiterate all throughout today's message.
00:02:33.660 If you get one thing, remember, the gospel is too good to keep
00:02:37.700 quiet. And Paul writes in the Book of Romans, he says in verse 16, "I
00:02:41.640 am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of
00:02:45.440 God for salvation to everyone who believes."
00:02:49.780 Paul was unashamed of the gospel, so much so that he had to
00:02:53.820 tell as many people as he could. Paul wasn't
00:02:57.300 embarrassed by Jesus. He wasn't intimidated by the culture.
00:03:01.400 He wasn't afraid of what people thought or their opinions of him.
00:03:05.160 He knew something, that the gospel has the power to
00:03:08.920 change lives. And when we experience something that's
00:03:12.560 life-changing, especially something that can change people's lives for
00:03:16.220 eternity, we cannot keep it to ourselves.
00:03:20.280 So the next four weeks, we're going to be unpacking how do we share the
00:03:24.320 good news. Today, focusing on what is the gospel,
00:03:28.000 primarily in the Book of Romans. Next week, we're going to be seeing some
00:03:31.200 testimonies and stories from the Bible, and how you can practically
00:03:34.880 share your story, your faith. Each week, I plan to give you very
00:03:38.840 practical ways that you can share the gospel, share
00:03:42.780 the good news, and take away some of the stigma, some of the fear,
00:03:47.060 and I want to encourage you and empower you that you can share the
00:03:50.980 good news. Every one of us can share about a restaurant, about a movie,
00:03:54.840 about some deal. We can certainly share the greatest news: that Jesus
00:03:58.720 came and died and rose again for life and life eternally.
00:04:02.640 So, before we jump into our first text, our primary text, let's pray.
00:04:07.120 Heavenly Father, God, I thank you for this day.
00:04:09.360 God, I thank you for everyone in this room, everyone watching online.
00:04:12.320 God, I thank you that what you are doing for each and every one of us, what you've
00:04:16.300 already done, God, that the good news of Jesus Christ has
00:04:20.120 changed and transformed most of our lives.
00:04:22.760 And God, I pray that your Word today would go forth.
00:04:25.620 God, help us hear from you, have your heart.
00:04:28.420 God, that we know there are people in our lives who don't know you, who don't know
00:04:32.220 the good news of what you've done for them.
00:04:34.510 And God, I pray that we would leave here today different than the way we came in.
00:04:38.280 God, that we'd be more on mission, more focused on sharing the good
00:04:42.100 news with as many people as we encounter.
00:04:44.560 And God, I pray you'd receive all the praise, all the honor, and all the
00:04:48.300 glory. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:04:52.220 So today, as I mentioned, we're going to be primarily in the Book of Romans, going
00:04:54.860 to be looking at several different verses and passages, but I want to give you a
00:04:57.700 little context first. Paul wrote to the church
00:05:01.680 in Rome. So the Book of Romans, as we have the Bible, it's broken up
00:05:05.620 in chapters and verses. Now, most of the Bible wasn't
00:05:09.580 written in chapters, none of it was written in chapters and verses.
00:05:11.720 It was written as letters. So the Book of Romans is actually a letter
00:05:15.740 from the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome.
00:05:18.320 Now, the church in Rome was made up of Jewish Christians, people who had
00:05:22.280 Jewish background, who began following Jesus, and
00:05:25.840 Gentile Christians, meaning people who didn't have religious background, they
00:05:29.720 didn't understand the Jewish ways, but yet they were followers of Jesus, too.
00:05:33.660 So Paul is writing to this mix of people in
00:05:37.720 Rome, the church of Rome. So it would've been a vast, diverse number of people.
00:05:42.100 So I want you to catch that, because he's not just writing to the pastor of Rome —
00:05:46.000 of the Roman church. He's not just writing as he did in some of the other letters.
00:05:49.280 He's writing to the people, to the saints, to all of the
00:05:53.280 people in Rome, so all the different mix of people there.
00:05:56.800 He starts in verse one. He says, "This letter is from Paul, a
00:06:00.880 slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an
00:06:04.760 apostle and sent out to preach His," what's that word?
00:06:08.160 "Preach His good news." God promised this, what's that
00:06:12.220 say? Good news long ago through His
00:06:15.600 prophets and the Holy Scriptures.
00:06:17.980 So Paul is acknowledging who he is.
00:06:20.720 He's like, "Hey, guys, this is Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus." Now, that word
00:06:24.580 slave is a bond servant. He says, "I belong to Jesus now."
00:06:28.900 Now, this same Paul — many of us know of Paul as like, yeah, he's the greatest
00:06:32.752 guy in the New Testament aside from Jesus.
00:06:35.052 He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. He was amazing.
00:06:38.032 He's a super apostle. He's like a super saint guy.
00:06:41.652 But Paul started as Saul,
00:06:44.552 really a terrorist of the Christians.
00:06:47.092 He was persecuting the Christians. He was arresting the Christians.
00:06:50.272 He was helping them get them executed.
00:06:53.052 And this same Paul now, this Saul, now his Roman
00:06:56.972 name, his Greek name became Paul. He says, "I now belong to Jesus."
00:07:01.512 Now, catch this. If you were one of those people who Paul had arrested, and
00:07:05.472 Paul's saying, "Stop following Jesus. Jesus is wrong.
00:07:09.012 What you're doing is blasphemy." And then you meet Paul a few years later,
00:07:12.952 and he goes, "Hey, guys, follow Jesus.
00:07:15.152 Jesus is the way."
00:07:17.372 I'd be like, "What were you doing?" You know the difference in him
00:07:20.732 persecuting and harming Christians to now he's the number one
00:07:24.752 promoter of Christianity? What happened in the middle was Jesus.
00:07:29.592 Jesus transformed Saul's life, where he now becomes
00:07:33.512 Paul. He's called Paul the rest of his life. He's a bond servant of Christ.
00:07:37.682 The number one promoter, and probably arguably did
00:07:41.542 the most work for the early church, was this man who
00:07:45.672 had a past. He didn't let that define him, but now here he is
00:07:49.372 following the command of Jesus to go and preach the good
00:07:53.132 news, to tell the good news of what has happened.
00:07:56.292 What's the good news? In verse three, he says the good news is
00:08:00.052 about his Son, about God's Son, Jesus.
00:08:02.912 He says, "In his earthly life, he was born into King David's
00:08:06.612 family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he
00:08:10.632 was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:08:14.312 He is Jesus Christ, our Lord." He makes it
00:08:18.012 crystal clear at the start of his letter, hey, the good news that I'm
00:08:22.032 called to preach, the good news that we're all supposed to share, it's
00:08:25.852 about Jesus. That man who was born, and this
00:08:29.912 line in verse three, the earthly life, he was born into King David's family line.
00:08:33.492 We may say, "What's the big deal?" He's speaking to the Jewish people
00:08:37.352 especially. They would've been looking for the Messiah, the
00:08:41.413 Lord, the Savior, who's going to come in the line of King
00:08:45.492 David's family line. That was very important as a
00:08:48.912 messianic something from the past prophesying into the
00:08:52.552 future, that this is how you're going to know who the Messiah is.
00:08:56.232 He's going to be born into King David's family line.
00:08:59.492 Now, the other Gentile, non-Jewish people probably would've been like, "Okay,
00:09:03.072 that's cool." Like, he's a real guy.
00:09:05.032 They knew who he was, but he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from
00:09:09.032 the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:09:11.492 How do we know Jesus truly is the Messiah?
00:09:13.872 How do we know he truly is the Son of God?
00:09:16.512 He predicted his death, burial, and resurrection,
00:09:20.632 and then he pulled it off. I'm like, talk about Copperfield, Houdini, whatever
00:09:24.572 magicians. None of those guys predicted their death, burial, and
00:09:28.592 resurrection, and pulled it off. Only Jesus could do such a
00:09:32.492 thing. Only God, in and through the flesh, could choose
00:09:36.472 to lay down his life, to sacrifice himself, and then come
00:09:40.612 back from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:09:43.212 Paul says it very clearly, "He is Jesus Christ,
00:09:47.292 our Lord." Now, what is the gospel, right?
00:09:51.041 The gospel is literally translated to mean good
00:09:54.652 news, right? There's many things that are good news.
00:09:58.192 You got the job. You got accepted to school. You got a raise.
00:10:01.612 Your wife is pregnant. Right? There's a lot of things that are good news, but the
00:10:05.112 gospel literally just means good news, so any good news could be
00:10:08.972 called gospel in a literal sense. However, when we talk
00:10:12.812 about the gospel, we're talking about this word, this
00:10:16.092 euangelion. It's actually used 12 times in the Book
00:10:20.032 of Romans, and it's actually a political and social
00:10:23.672 term that was used throughout history to declare, it was
00:10:27.492 for royal announcements in declaring victories.
00:10:31.622 So what would happen is the king, say King David, he'd send his army out
00:10:35.592 to fight another kingdom, and when they would win, they'd defeat another
00:10:39.672 enemy, they'd come back and they'd share the good news that
00:10:43.612 they conquered the enemy. It was a royal announcement.
00:10:47.612 Whenever a new king would be appointed, they would send out the
00:10:51.612 good news saying, "Hey, there's a new king." This is an
00:10:55.112 announcement, a royal announcement, a victory
00:10:58.312 declaration. So the gospel — and early Christians, they
00:11:02.152 adopted the gospel as this is a royal
00:11:05.582 announcement. A man born in the royal line of David,
00:11:09.692 a man conquered and defeated all the enemies of
00:11:13.112 sin, of death, and the grave, and he overcame them
00:11:16.952 all. So the gospel is a declaration of victory.
00:11:20.961 It's a royal announcement. It's not just good advice.
00:11:25.012 It's not self-help. It's not try harder and be a better
00:11:28.332 person. It's news, right? Something
00:11:31.972 happened. What happened? Jesus Christ came to rescue sinners.
00:11:36.172 He died on the cross for our sins. He was buried and rose from the
00:11:40.112 dead three days later. He offers forgiveness, freedom, and
00:11:44.112 eternal life to all who believe in him.
00:11:48.172 That, ladies and gentlemen, is good news. Amen?
00:11:53.072 But what makes it such good news is partly due to the bad news
00:11:57.052 that it defeated, okay? So to have really good news,
00:12:00.792 oftentimes there's bad news that had to be overcome.
00:12:03.792 So what's the bad news? Romans 3:23 says this,
00:12:08.272 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
00:12:11.992 God." Every one of us has a problem.
00:12:15.532 We all have sin. It's actually the one thing, if you think about
00:12:19.312 every single person on the planet, doesn't matter their
00:12:22.692 geographic location, their socioeconomic class, the
00:12:26.672 language they speak, their education, every single person
00:12:30.652 on the planet has sin. It's one thing
00:12:34.492 that every person has in common. That's the bad
00:12:38.292 news. We have this problem. We've all sinned. What do we do about it?
00:12:42.552 Well, Romans 6:23 says this, "The wages of sin
00:12:46.632 is death."
00:12:48.572 It gets worse. Not only do we all have sin, the problem, the payment,
00:12:52.652 the consequence for our sin is death.
00:12:55.512 Now, death is simply the absence of life.
00:12:58.892 So think about it, if God is life,
00:13:01.732 sin separates us from God, and we have death.
00:13:04.752 We're separated from life. If God is light — God is light —
00:13:09.012 we're separated from God, we're in darkness.
00:13:12.092 When God is joy and peace and patience and love and
00:13:15.932 kindness, separation from God is all the other things.
00:13:19.832 Sadness, depression, wickedness, evil.
00:13:22.792 Sin separates us from God, and the
00:13:26.652 wages of our sin is death. There has to be a payment
00:13:30.232 for our sin. Little bit of good news. It's the best news.
00:13:34.002 "The free gift of God is eternal life in
00:13:37.712 Christ Jesus, our Lord."
00:13:40.932 We deserve death. We deserve judgment.
00:13:44.152 We deserve to be separated from God, but God offers life.
00:13:48.532 God offers forgiveness. He offers a way for us to come back
00:13:52.412 to Him and have this free gift. It literally says, "a free
00:13:56.192 gift of God." You cannot earn it. You can't do
00:13:59.932 anything to earn or pay for this gift.
00:14:02.792 It's a gift that's freely given by God.
00:14:06.132 Jesus did for us what we could never do for
00:14:09.812 ourselves.
00:14:11.892 We could never pay for our sins. Even if we wanted to
00:14:15.972 lay down our life, it's still not enough to pay for the
00:14:19.932 consequences of our sins. It's why it's called
00:14:23.672 grace. What is grace? Grace is God's
00:14:27.512 undeserved favor toward unworthy people.
00:14:33.352 Truth hurts sometimes to get us to where we need to get to.
00:14:37.192 The truth is all of us are unworthy people.
00:14:40.472 None of us are good enough. We don't deserve God's love, his
00:14:44.472 forgiveness, his mercy. And I'm not saying this to beat you up, it's the
00:14:48.372 truth of how we get to understand the grace of God.
00:14:52.592 So grace is something that God gives us.
00:14:54.852 He gives undeserved favor, undeserved merit.
00:14:58.532 He gives us this favor when we don't deserve it.
00:15:02.312 Counter that with his mercy.
00:15:05.872 Mercy is when he doesn't give us something we
00:15:09.812 do deserve, right? We deserve punishment and judgment and separation,
00:15:14.012 yet he offers forgiveness and life and acceptance, and a way
00:15:17.952 back to him. So yes, we're unworthy, but God's grace
00:15:22.012 gives us that undeserved favor. 26 times we see
00:15:25.992 in the Book of Romans that Paul uses this word grace.
00:15:29.912 Grace changes everything. Grace isn't a license to just
00:15:33.792 go on doing whatever we want. Grace is an empowerment.
00:15:37.072 God gives us his grace so that we can live
00:15:41.052 for Him.
00:15:42.792 Romans 5:8, I believe sums this up the best.
00:15:44.972 It says, "But God demonstrates his own love for
00:15:48.872 us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
00:15:52.532 died for us." That is good news. That is the
00:15:56.512 gospel. It's good news that we cannot earn it.
00:16:00.092 We can't do anything to pay for it. And while we were sinners,
00:16:04.112 Christ died for us. You know why the gospel is
00:16:08.012 so powerful? It's because it's an action.
00:16:11.052 It's not just something that happened, but it's an action.
00:16:13.952 God demonstrates his love by sending his Son,
00:16:17.872 Jesus, to die for us. Just like love.
00:16:20.872 Love is not just a feeling. Love isn't just a word.
00:16:24.252 It's an action. The gospel has power not just to make us
00:16:28.172 feel better, but to change our lives.
00:16:32.212 The gospel moves from dead things to living things.
00:16:35.832 The gospel takes people trapped in sin and gives them freedom.
00:16:39.632 It takes people who are in despair and gives them hope.
00:16:44.272 And Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel."
00:16:48.952 He wasn't saying he's confident in himself.
00:16:52.531 If anybody could say this, Paul says this, he actually says it in Hebrews.
00:16:55.892 He goes, "I'm the Hebrew of Hebrews.
00:16:57.492 I'm from the tribe of Benjamin." He lists out his resume and said, "Of
00:17:01.352 all the things that I could be proud of, my
00:17:04.892 PhD in Pharisee school," he says, "All that's considered
00:17:08.752 garbage, nothing compared to the knowledge that I
00:17:12.593 know Jesus." That — that trumped all of his
00:17:16.272 background, all of his education, all of his understanding of his
00:17:19.992 training. He says, "I know Jesus now, and the knowledge of the
00:17:24.133 good news of the gospel of Jesus is what I'm confident in."
00:17:28.152 That's what he was saying, "I'm not ashamed in that."
00:17:32.172 He was confident in the good news about Jesus.
00:17:36.172 But Paul, he faced immense persecution.
00:17:39.832 He was beaten, imprisoned, whipped, tortured,
00:17:44.012 stoned, and eventually he died for being a follower of
00:17:47.912 Jesus. We don't face that in the United States, but we do have
00:17:51.832 some pressure. Pressure that says, "Keep your faith quiet.
00:17:56.352 Keep your religion private. Don't talk about Jesus.
00:17:59.952 You're being too extreme. If you talk about Jesus with people, you offer
00:18:03.812 to pray for somebody." People, our culture, and our society is
00:18:07.672 often putting that pressure to say, "Keep that to yourself. You do you.
00:18:11.692 You and Jesus are cool, just don't talk about it to me." And many a
00:18:15.652 time, we put that in our minds thinking that's what everybody thinks.
00:18:19.862 I have found the exact opposite more often.
00:18:22.692 People want to know about Jesus. People want to know truth.
00:18:26.172 People want to hear good news. We get bad news all
00:18:30.132 the time 24/7, right? Well, how about some good news?
00:18:34.352 People want to hear some good news, and the best news
00:18:38.092 possible is that we have sin, we have this problem,
00:18:41.980 somebody paid for our sin, and now we can live a life of
00:18:45.280 freedom in Christ.
00:18:47.800 I believe there are people waiting.
00:18:49.560 I know there are people waiting because I talk to them.
00:18:51.720 I had a text conversation this past week, I've talked to a dozen people probably or so —
00:18:55.480 or the last couple of months — who say, "Am I allowed to come to your
00:18:59.320 church?"
00:19:00.680 They're waiting for somebody to invite them because they don't know if they're
00:19:04.080 allowed to come. I've had people come and visit, and they say, "I'll come back if
00:19:07.440 I'm invited." And I say, "You're welcome to come every single week.
00:19:11.080 You don't have to be invited." However, that's many people's mindset — that you are
00:19:15.080 welcome. If you're here today, you're welcome, and I'm inviting you to come
00:19:19.160 back. This is your invitation and it's ongoing.
00:19:22.160 There are no secret times that we meet. It's 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
00:19:25.680 until we add a third service. Until we make room for more people.
00:19:29.020 But the reality is many people are waiting for somebody to
00:19:32.920 invite them, waiting for somebody to share the good news.
00:19:36.180 My life for 25 years before I found Christ, before Christ found
00:19:40.120 me,
00:19:41.140 I don't recall ever somebody coming to me and trying to share the good news with
00:19:44.920 me.
00:19:46.260 I was lost as you could be lost, living a selfish,
00:19:50.320 sinful lifestyle, and I don't recall.
00:19:52.820 Maybe some people did, maybe they tried and I rejected it, but either way, I don't
00:19:56.300 remember people saying, "Hey, Eric. Let me talk to you.
00:19:58.840 The way you're living, the things you're doing, the way you're drinking, the way
00:20:02.140 you're posting things online, the way you're living your life, that's not what's
00:20:05.320 best for you. There's a better way to live." I don't recall
00:20:09.140 ever anybody trying to do that with me personally.
00:20:12.560 Maybe they did, I don't think they did.
00:20:14.510 And I think, what if somebody would come to them?
00:20:17.200 What if God's calling you to be that person to go to
00:20:20.820 somebody in your life, not to call them out for their sin, but to say, "Hey,
00:20:24.860 there's a better way of living. Living a life of freedom in Christ." Most
00:20:28.660 people know they have sin. Most people know when they're living
00:20:32.840 in despair. They're living just trying to get by, surviving each
00:20:36.720 day, and they're waiting for us to go talk to them.
00:20:41.120 They're waiting for us to start a conversation.
00:20:43.900 The gospel is too good to keep quiet.
00:20:48.160 There's this
00:20:49.280 Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah that talks
00:20:53.140 about Jesus. So, the Old Testament, there's historical books,
00:20:57.000 there's the book of the law, there's poetry, and there's
00:21:00.740 minor prophets and major prophets.
00:21:02.400 One of the major prophets, which just means it had a lot more content, is the Book
00:21:06.350 of Isaiah. So Isaiah, he's prophesying 700
00:21:10.100 years before Jesus, talking about the Messiah to come.
00:21:13.660 These are going to be ways that you know the Messiah has come, the
00:21:17.380 Savior has come. This is how you're going to know.
00:21:19.520 He's actually talking about Jesus.
00:21:21.140 So I'm going to read through these couple verses.
00:21:24.080 Verse one says, "The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
00:21:28.180 for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." Again, this is
00:21:32.080 written about Jesus 700 years before.
00:21:35.489 "He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to
00:21:39.000 proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will
00:21:42.880 be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that
00:21:46.860 the time of the Lord's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's
00:21:50.780 anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel,
00:21:54.860 he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous
00:21:58.440 blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of
00:22:02.160 despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
00:22:06.180 that the Lord has planted for his own glory."
00:22:10.600 This prophecy speaking about Jesus, about the Messiah, is
00:22:14.460 actually the very prophecy that Jesus kicks off early in his public
00:22:18.320 ministry. He's in his hometown. It was customary, he'd get up
00:22:22.520 and read from the scrolls, read the Bible of the Old Testament they had at the
00:22:26.360 time. He says Jesus opened Isaiah, found this place,
00:22:30.540 he reads these verses, and then he sits down and says, "Today,
00:22:34.500 this has been fulfilled."
00:22:36.300 The people were shocked. They're like, "What do you mean?
00:22:38.880 You're saying you're the Messiah?
00:22:41.100 You're this guy who brings good news to the poor,
00:22:45.180 who comforts the brokenhearted, who sets the captives free, the
00:22:49.100 prisoners will be released? You're saying you're that guy?" Jesus is like,
00:22:52.940 "Yes, that's me." This has been fulfilled, that
00:22:56.860 Jesus coming to the Earth and living his life, dying on
00:23:00.799 the cross, being buried, and rising again, he brings a crown of beauty
00:23:04.740 for ashes. He brings joyous blessing instead of mourning.
00:23:08.720 He brings festive praise instead of despair.
00:23:11.960 That's the gospel. That's the good news.
00:23:14.320 Your ashes, the things that have been burned up in your life, your mourning, your
00:23:18.380 sadness, your loss, your despair can be turned into a
00:23:22.200 crown of beauty, of joyous blessing, and festive
00:23:25.780 praise.
00:23:27.120 That's the good news. God turns your past and makes it into
00:23:31.120 something better for the future. That's the good news.
00:23:33.760 But in Christ is the best way we see this
00:23:37.640 come to pass. Jesus is saying He is the good news.
00:23:42.200 Notice some of the wording, though.
00:23:43.920 Jesus said that He proclaims the good news.
00:23:46.300 He proclaims the captives released, that we are called to speak
00:23:50.580 up. There's actually a quote — I quote it often, actually. St.
00:23:54.760 Francis of Assisi, and he says, "Preach the gospel at all times,
00:23:59.000 and when necessary, use words." And I think that's great.
00:24:02.420 We live our lives as a very loud
00:24:05.840 testimony, but I also believe we're supposed to use our words.
00:24:10.150 And the problem comes when we use the words, we say all the right
00:24:13.940 things, but we're not living it, then people are turned away.
00:24:18.100 So for us to share the good news, we've got to be living the good news.
00:24:22.680 That's not perfect, but real, authentic, that we
00:24:26.480 live out the good news that we once were lost and
00:24:30.370 now we're found. We once used to be like Saul and against
00:24:33.940 God, now we are for God in all the right ways.
00:24:37.700 God wants to use your voice, and actually, He asks these rhetorical
00:24:41.140 questions in Romans chapter 10, verses 14 and 15.
00:24:44.960 And right before this, He says, "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
00:24:48.140 saved." "How, then, will they call on him in
00:24:52.130 whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of
00:24:55.810 whom they have never heard?" So think about this.
00:24:59.870 How will they believe if they never hear?
00:25:02.960 And how can they hear if no one speaks?
00:25:06.830 Someone has to tell them. And maybe God put
00:25:10.790 you in somebody's life to be the person to tell them the good
00:25:14.450 news.
00:25:15.810 It's not just about the pastor, it's not just the evangelist, it's not
00:25:19.930 just the radio station. It takes all of us to
00:25:23.590 share the good news for people to call upon the Lord.
00:25:27.370 You don't need to be a pastor, you don't need to be a preacher.
00:25:30.470 You don't need to know everything. You know what you need?
00:25:33.490 You need to know Jesus, you need to be willing, you need to start the
00:25:37.430 conversation.
00:25:39.550 Start the conversation as simple as, "Hey, what are your thoughts on Jesus?
00:25:44.730 Hey, what do you know about Christianity?
00:25:47.830 Hey, have you ever read the Bible?" Start the conversation and
00:25:51.870 let God, let the Holy Spirit lead that conversation.
00:25:55.090 If you have the right heart, you truly want what's best for people, I believe God
00:25:58.730 will use you to point people to Him.
00:26:01.610 But don't let fear steal someone's opportunity to hear the good news.
00:26:05.530 One of the biggest enemies of evangelism, of us sharing
00:26:09.550 the good news, I believe is fear. It's not that you don't want to,
00:26:13.590 I think we're afraid to. And listen, I'm up here admitting I
00:26:17.670 still get afraid to share the good news.
00:26:20.690 You're like, "What?" I'm at Home Depot, I'm walking down the aisle and I run into
00:26:24.410 somebody and I'm like, "I just feel like I'm supposed to tell them about Jesus,"
00:26:27.290 and sometimes I hold back. Sometimes I'm too busy to take some
00:26:31.310 time because I got to hurry up and get something done.
00:26:33.850 Sometimes I just go, "What if they think I'm weird?" These thoughts go through
00:26:37.670 my mind. I'm saying that hopefully to encourage you.
00:26:41.030 If you are afraid, it's okay. Do it afraid
00:26:44.230 anyways. What's the worst that can happen? They say, "You're a weirdo.
00:26:47.870 Get away from me." Okay, go about your day.
00:26:50.990 Don't force it, but start the conversation.
00:26:54.210 Here's a key that helped me so much.
00:26:56.150 You don't have to win every conversation.
00:27:00.190 The win is starting the conversation.
00:27:03.870 I've never won somebody to Jesus by arguing theology with them.
00:27:08.050 In fact, I encourage you not to argue theology with people, especially lost people
00:27:11.870 you're trying to reach. Share your story.
00:27:14.730 In fact, we're going to do a quick little exercise.
00:27:17.790 I need a volunteer, and I'm going to need that microphone, Jared.
00:27:20.910 Somebody here who would like to come up on stage, even if you don't want to, if
00:27:24.590 you're willing to, come up on stage and we're going to do a little exercise.
00:27:28.010 I want to show you how easy it is to share your faith.
00:27:31.030 Now, I didn't prompt anybody with this, so, hey, Chase, why don't you come
00:27:35.070 on up here?
00:27:37.150 He looked like he was like, "Call on me." No, he was saying the opposite. No icon.
00:27:40.690 Let's welcome Chase up to the stage.
00:27:45.970 So Chase is here. Now, I want you to think about your favorite restaurant. Okay?
00:27:50.010 Favorite place that you would go to eat, and you're going to try to convince us all
00:27:52.610 to go there. Don't do it yet, but think of your favorite place. You got it?
00:27:58.050 Yeah.
00:27:58.530 All right, tell us your favorite restaurant or one of your top restaurants.
00:28:02.250 So it's In-N-Out. It's in Altoona.
00:28:04.450 In-N-Out.
00:28:04.610 It's an iconic foot-long hot dog place.
00:28:07.290 One of a kind, very distinct. I've gone there since I was a kid whenever I go to
00:28:10.470 visit
00:28:11.570 my grandma and yeah.
00:28:13.530 So In-N-Out, do you know where they source their meats from?
00:28:17.410 It's in a hot dog place, right? You don't know where they get them from.
00:28:20.030 Do you know if they have organic grass-fed, grass-finished beef?
00:28:23.650 It's somewhere local. I know that.
00:28:25.290 Okay. You don't know that though?
00:28:27.570 No.
00:28:27.690 Do you know if they have
00:28:29.190 gluten-free buns?
00:28:31.390 Yes. Now they do.
00:28:32.590 They do?
00:28:33.220 Yeah.
00:28:33.310 Okay, that's good to know.
00:28:34.310 Very old school, so not so recently.
00:28:36.070 So I went to this restaurant one time and I had a really bad experience, so
00:28:40.370 I don't know if I should check out this In-N-Out. I had a bad experience before.
00:28:43.930 I had a hot dog, got me sick to my stomach.
00:28:45.710 I don't think I should go to this place. Why should I go to this In-N-Out?
00:28:49.470 Have you had it before?
00:28:50.570 No.
00:28:50.890 It's worth trying.
00:28:52.270 Okay.
00:28:53.390 It's a good argument. Do you know if they happen to have somebody who works
00:28:57.290 there named Alex?
00:28:59.250 No idea. No.
00:29:00.070 Oh, okay. Do you know if they have diet Dr. Pepper?
00:29:03.130 They do.
00:29:03.830 They do? That's good.
00:29:05.170 Yeah.
00:29:05.430 It's really good to know.
00:29:08.170 Do you know how long they've been in existence?
00:29:13.070 No? Okay.
00:29:14.030 Like 80 years, I think.
00:29:15.110 80 years. That's a long time. Okay. Good track record. They didn't get shut down.
00:29:18.670 Now, let me-
00:29:19.270 They did burn down at one point.
00:29:20.690 Okay.
00:29:21.460 They rebuilt.
00:29:23.730 So
00:29:24.690 why should I go to In-N-Out? Again, tell everyone, why should they go to In-N-Out?
00:29:29.650 He was not paid to do this, but maybe you'll get some kickbacks.
00:29:32.890 Well, I think it's a great spot. In today's time, it's
00:29:36.910 reasonably priced. Okay.
00:29:39.370 I think you can sit down with the family, get a good meal, have some good
00:29:42.230 conversations. It's iconic. You don't really have many hot dog places around here.
00:29:46.950 Well, it's not around here.
00:29:47.910 What do you love most about it? What's your favorite thing there?
00:29:51.390 Memories.
00:29:52.790 Yeah, cool.
00:29:54.070 Personally, but, it's hard to sell someone on that, I think.
00:29:57.670 No, that's good.
00:29:58.160 For a restaurant.
00:29:58.850 Personal experience, right?
00:30:00.400 Yeah.
00:30:00.470 I don't have those memories there, so it's a personal experience.
00:30:02.670 Now, it sounds silly. There were some obscure questions, but many people, we do the
00:30:06.770 same thing when we're talking about the gospel, we're talking about good news.
00:30:10.190 So,
00:30:11.130 why should somebody come to church?
00:30:13.730 What would you say?
00:30:15.330 Oh, Jesus Christ saved my life.
00:30:17.010 There you go.
00:30:17.710 I'm a completely different person now.
00:30:19.230 I've been opened up into many blessings I would've never found without God.
00:30:23.810 And when somebody asks theological questions or eschatological questions
00:30:27.690 or about tribulation or end times, even if Chase could answer
00:30:31.450 those, many times those are questions that people ask that we get
00:30:35.630 scared of answering. Like, do they have diet Dr. Pepper?
00:30:38.690 Do they have a server named Alex? It's like- Really, that stuff, it
00:30:42.474 matters, but it really doesn't matter to why he's going,
00:30:46.814 to why you should come to Jesus, to why you should share your faith.
00:30:50.234 His life has been radically changed by Jesus.
00:30:53.214 His life is no longer the way he used to live. He's now living differently.
00:30:56.874 Right? Yeah. I'm not putting words in your mouth. No. You're all right.
00:30:58.774 I know your story. Yeah. So, that's what he gets to share, and that's
00:31:02.674 powerful to anybody. Why should someone come to Freedom Church?
00:31:05.934 Why should somebody give Jesus a chance? His life has changed, that's why.
00:31:10.374 And that Jesus can do that same thing for you. So, Chase, great job.
00:31:13.674 Thank you so much. Let's give him a hand.
00:31:18.554 My hope is that, that helps you just focus on, don't get caught
00:31:22.554 up in all those questions, the what ifs, the fears.
00:31:25.694 He had no problem getting up here and talking about In-N-Out.
00:31:28.474 Most of you have no problem talking about your favorite restaurant, and why you
00:31:32.214 love going there, and the best thing that you love to order, and your go-to, and
00:31:35.794 you walk in, they know your name. Like all those types of things, we don't have any
00:31:39.874 problem with that, but then when it comes to, "Hey, will you share Jesus?" You're
00:31:43.094 like, "Oh, I never went to school for that. I'm not trained in that.
00:31:47.014 I don't know how to do that." Here's what you do.
00:31:49.174 You take where you were,
00:31:52.154 what happened, and Jesus, how did he change your life, and now how is your
00:31:55.974 life better? And I'm actually going to dig into that very practically next Sunday,
00:31:59.934 and I want to help you understand how to better share your story.
00:32:03.034 But the reality is, you can start with, "I was lost, Jesus
00:32:07.014 found me, now I'm living a better life.
00:32:09.914 And Jesus can do that for you, too. Why don't you come with me to church next
00:32:13.134 Sunday?" It's as simple as that to start that conversation.
00:32:16.614 Now, when they ask other questions or they have bad experiences, the reality is
00:32:20.274 many people have had bad experiences with church.
00:32:23.554 And I'm not excusing or condoning any of that stuff.
00:32:27.014 I'm saying, "No, that's wrong. You should not.
00:32:29.154 I'm sad that you had those experiences," but just like you have a bad
00:32:32.734 experience at one restaurant doesn't mean you give up restaurants altogether.
00:32:36.494 You go to a different one. Yes, you had a bad experience at a church,
00:32:40.414 go to a different one. And thankfully, you're all in a different church right now,
00:32:43.544 and I pray that you continue to go to a good, healthy, life-giving church.
00:32:47.934 Our responsibility is not to convert people, it's to
00:32:51.974 share the good news.
00:32:54.094 We don't save anybody, Jesus does.
00:32:58.134 We don't transform people's hearts, the Holy Spirit does that.
00:33:02.594 Our job is to simply share the good news, to
00:33:06.414 point people to Jesus. And every time you do that, you are
00:33:10.074 participating in God's mission. So, the gospel
00:33:14.134 is too good to keep quiet. People need to know that there is
00:33:18.034 forgiveness, there is hope, there is redemption, that
00:33:21.854 God's love is available to them, and they don't have to earn it.
00:33:25.774 To be honest, we live in a very religious area, a lot of
00:33:29.074 Catholicism, Orthodox, other backgrounds, that is really
00:33:32.954 catered on, you need to earn and do good things, pray certain
00:33:36.694 prayers, do certain things in order to be saved.
00:33:39.534 When the Bible says, "Jesus died for you while you were a
00:33:43.474 sinner." And the gospel is the power of God for salvation.
00:33:47.514 I want you to imagine something with me.
00:33:49.794 Imagine if every single one of us here identified one
00:33:53.534 person.
00:33:55.194 Who's one person who's maybe close to you, maybe far from God?
00:33:59.854 Maybe you're like, "I don't really know where they are." Sometimes you can tell,
00:34:02.974 sometimes you can't, but somebody who's close to you, say, "I don't think they go
00:34:06.294 to church. I don't think they're a Christian." Think of that person.
00:34:09.614 What if, now imagine we prayed for that person every single day.
00:34:14.074 Say, "God, remove whatever problems or barriers that are holding them back.
00:34:17.674 God, I pray that you draw them to yourself.
00:34:20.134 And God, I pray that they would be saved." As simple as that, every day we pray for
00:34:23.654 that one person. And then you start a conversation with them.
00:34:27.374 Maybe simply send them a text, invite them.
00:34:29.594 "Hey, I've been going to this church in Murrysville on 22, right next to the
00:34:33.495 beer warehouse," use that in. "Why don't you come
00:34:37.374 sit with me? Would you mind coming next week with me?" and
00:34:41.114 start the conversation. My prayer is that Freedom Church would not just talk about
00:34:44.594 Jesus on Sundays, but we would be a church that talks about Jesus Monday through
00:34:48.134 Saturday.
00:34:49.435 And the church is not the building, the church is you.
00:34:52.754 It's us, it's the people. We are the church, and it has to go
00:34:56.435 beyond just Sunday.
00:34:59.594 So today, Jesus still offers forgiveness, freedom,
00:35:03.694 and a new life. In Romans 10 verse 9,
00:35:07.034 Paul writes, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and
00:35:10.954 believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
00:35:14.914 be saved." The best news — one of the best news for me, because when
00:35:18.914 I came to Jesus, I was at the lowest of lows.
00:35:22.494 I was in the deepest pit of myself. I didn't have to get
00:35:26.514 cleaned up before I came to Jesus because I never could've cleaned myself up.
00:35:30.574 But Jesus washes us clean. Jesus cleans us up.
00:35:34.074 He does the change and the work in us.
00:35:37.214 And if you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, today can be that day.
00:35:41.514 It starts with believing in your heart, confessing with your mouth.
00:35:44.594 Now, that belief is not just in your mind. It says belief in your heart.
00:35:48.843 And that belief, it's a faith step.
00:35:51.334 So, the word faith, used 39 times in the Book of Romans.
00:35:55.234 It comes from the Greek word pistis, which is a belief, a trust,
00:35:59.414 and reliance on God.
00:36:01.614 Faith is something that we can't see, and at other times, Hebrews
00:36:05.574 describes faith as the assurance of things hoped for, yet we cannot
00:36:09.554 see them. Right? You can't prove God
00:36:13.554 exists to people, but you can show them evidence.
00:36:16.854 Your story of life change, your testimony, is
00:36:20.694 evidence of God's love, of God's mercy, of God's presence
00:36:24.794 in and through your life. And when I ask people to take a step of faith,
00:36:28.814 I'm not saying just trust me, I'm saying trust the evidence.
00:36:33.114 Look at the evidence of what God has created, all the things in
00:36:36.614 biology and the world, and then listen to all these stories, study the
00:36:40.414 scriptures, and when you look at all of the evidence, it only
00:36:44.294 makes logical sense to put your faith, your belief, your
00:36:48.314 trust, and your dependence in God alone because nobody else
00:36:52.594 can save your soul. Nobody else can redeem your life like the
00:36:56.634 one who came and died, was buried, and rose from the dead
00:37:00.824 That's what it means to take a step of faith, to trust in Him,
00:37:04.804 not blindly, but based on the evidence.
00:37:08.784 And the evidence is insurmountable.
00:37:13.004 So what I shared with you, those several verses, is what's known as the Romans Road
00:37:17.024 to salvation. It's a very practical way
00:37:21.024 for you to share the gospel with people.
00:37:24.244 So you can take a picture of this, you can write these down.
00:37:26.784 There's some variations of it. You can look it up online.
00:37:30.344 I want to encourage you, if you can get ahold of this, this is a simple way
00:37:34.804 to talk to somebody and say, "Hey, we've all sinned." Have you ever sinned?
00:37:38.404 100% of the people in the world have sinned, whether they realize it or not.
00:37:41.524 They've done wrong things. They've done bad things.
00:37:43.484 People feel bad for the bad things they've done. The wages of sin is death.
00:37:47.364 Hey, there's consequences to our actions.
00:37:50.984 Most people would say, understand, yes, there's consequences.
00:37:54.304 Yet Christ died for sinners. That God loves you so much,
00:37:58.284 Christ died for you. If you believe and confess that Jesus is Lord,
00:38:02.584 and you call upon the Lord, you will be saved.
00:38:06.044 That's not something I came up with. That's what the Bible says.
00:38:10.184 Now, a little tip I encourage you is, sometimes I don't reference the
00:38:14.204 Bible and quote the scriptures because most people who don't read the Bible or
00:38:17.904 don't believe the Bible, they don't care what Romans 6:23 is, or they
00:38:21.784 have no idea what you're talking about.
00:38:23.844 But the truth of all have sinned, the wages of sin is death, Christ
00:38:27.684 died for sinners, believe and confess Jesus is Lord, and call upon the Lord and you
00:38:31.504 will be saved, those are true, whether you quote where they're from or
00:38:35.224 not. Those truths stand on their own.
00:38:38.364 So there's the Romans Road to salvation using the Book of Romans.
00:38:42.024 You can walk people. I've walked people from death to life through the
00:38:46.084 power of the Holy Spirit. People have given their lives to Jesus by walking
00:38:50.044 this out, starting with we have to acknowledge our sin.
00:38:54.764 We are not a church that says we're going to skim over sin.
00:38:58.084 We have to address our sin. We have to address the reason
00:39:02.024 Jesus needed to die on the cross was because every single one of us needed
00:39:06.124 a payment for our sin.
00:39:10.044 I'm going to end with where we started, Romans 1, verse 16.
00:39:13.644 Paul says, "I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ.
00:39:17.044 It is the power of God at work saving everyone who
00:39:20.624 believes, the Jew first, and also the Gentile." In verse 17, he
00:39:24.484 says, "This good news tells us how God makes us
00:39:28.244 right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to
00:39:32.064 finish by faith. As the scriptures say, 'It is through
00:39:35.584 faith that a righteous person has life.'" It
00:39:39.524 takes faith. It takes a belief and a trust, not
00:39:43.564 just acknowledging God, but putting your trust, putting your
00:39:47.564 reliance, and your dependence on Jesus Christ.
00:39:50.904 That's what makes us right standing with Him.
00:39:53.644 It's not what we do, it's what He's already done for us.
00:39:58.964 I don't believe any of us would say that we're ashamed of Jesus.
00:40:02.604 But can we make it personal
00:40:04.644 and really say this for ourselves, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of
00:40:08.404 Jesus."
00:40:10.004 I am personally not ashamed of what Jesus has done for me.
00:40:12.324 I'm not ashamed of the cross. I'm not ashamed of His word.
00:40:15.564 I'm not ashamed of His name, and I'm going to tell as many people as I can
00:40:19.744 the good news because people need to hear it.
00:40:23.244 Someone needs hope. Someone needs forgiveness.
00:40:26.504 Someone needs freedom. Every single person needs
00:40:30.044 Jesus.
00:40:32.104 Let's be a church that speaks up. Let's be a church that is
00:40:35.424 unashamed because the gospel is too good to keep
00:40:39.344 quiet.
00:40:40.584 Will you please stand to your feet?
00:40:42.364 I want to pray over each of you
00:40:45.644 as we get ready to close.
00:40:50.524 Father, we are grateful for Your grace and Your mercy.
00:40:54.964 God, I thank You for the cross, that the grave is
00:40:58.324 empty.
00:41:00.364 We declare that gospel, the royal announcement that Jesus
00:41:03.964 Christ has overcome sin and death, and God, we thank You.
00:41:07.644 We praise You, God, that we can have new life
00:41:11.464 because of Your gospel.
00:41:14.004 That it's not just words, it's not just a message, but it's the
00:41:17.303 power of You for salvation.
00:41:21.243 And today, God, I pray that You take away our fear.
00:41:25.064 God, I pray we let go of any fears that we have, any fear of
00:41:28.864 judgment, fear of people's opinions, fear of people-pleasing,
00:41:32.784 or worried about doing what other people want us to do, and simply
00:41:37.444 be able to say what Paul said, "We're servants of Yours.
00:41:40.704 We're a slave to You, Jesus. We belong to You,
00:41:44.044 that we care more about what You think of us than what people think of
00:41:47.964 us."
00:41:49.604 God, I pray You'd remove all fear and replace it with boldness.
00:41:52.854 God, that You'd transform the way we see people.
00:41:55.784 God, the way we see our coworkers, our neighbors, our friends and our family.
00:41:59.484 God, we would realize every single person needs
00:42:03.444 Jesus. I pray, God, You'd give us the courage to do
00:42:06.884 something about it.
00:42:09.204 God, give us the opportunity to have a conversation this week.
00:42:12.824 God, give us the courage to share our story.
00:42:15.904 God, give us the boldness to invite somebody next Sunday.
00:42:19.324 God, give us the compassion to listen and care for
00:42:23.324 people. God, I pray we'd slow down. I'm speaking to myself, God.
00:42:26.964 Help me slow down throughout my week to take time for just one
00:42:30.784 person.
00:42:32.504 God, may You give us those opportunities, and God, may we step into those
00:42:35.984 opportunities with boldness and courage, not in ourselves,
00:42:39.924 but in You.
00:42:41.544 God, I pray Freedom Church would be a church that is unashamed
00:42:45.564 of the gospel.
00:42:48.724 And right now, I just ask that you'd bow your heads, close your eyes.
00:42:53.184 Maybe you're here today, and you've never surrendered your life to
00:42:56.944 Jesus.
00:43:00.524 Maybe you've been coming to church, and you've heard about Jesus
00:43:04.884 Maybe you believe in who He is or what has been said about
00:43:08.924 Him.
00:43:10.364 But today, Jesus is calling you to surrender your life,
00:43:13.964 not to religion, not to Freedom Church as an
00:43:17.204 organization, but He's calling you to a relationship with Him.
00:43:22.624 He sent His Son to die for you so that your sins could be
00:43:26.564 forgiven, that you could walk as a new creature in
00:43:30.624 Christ Jesus.
00:43:32.704 Today, forgiveness is available, freedom is available, a new
00:43:36.244 life is available, and you don't have to earn it.
00:43:39.384 You don't have to clean yourself up first.
00:43:41.964 Come as you are right now today. If you're willing to say, "Jesus, I need you,
00:43:46.104 forgive me for my sin, and I surrender my life to you," I invite you
00:43:50.044 right now to repeat after me. Say, "I confess I have sinned.
00:43:54.744 I turn from my sin. Jesus, I need you.
00:43:59.384 Jesus, forgive me.
00:44:01.624 I surrender my life to you now. I call on you as
00:44:05.704 Lord of my life.
00:44:07.924 I belong to you from this day forward.
00:44:09.784 In Jesus' name,
00:44:11.764 amen."
00:44:13.624 Amen. If you just made that decision, you prayed that prayer, you felt it, you
00:44:17.304 believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Bible says you
00:44:21.244 will be saved. But you should take next steps.
00:44:24.324 You should take a step of getting connected to learn how important your
00:44:28.264 next steps are as a new follower of Jesus.
00:44:30.944 So one way you can do that, you can take your phone, tap it to the card on the
00:44:34.764 seat back in front of you. You can fill out a connection card or on our website,
00:44:38.764 and Jared's actually going to give you some other opportunities as well for how you
00:44:42.224 can get connected more and stay connected to the good news of Jesus.
00:44:46.464 So church, let's welcome Jared. Come on up to the stage. You guys can be seated.
00:44:49.884 He has a couple quick announcements.
>> Jared
00:44:52.644 Thank you so much, Pastor Eric. And yeah, we got some wonderful, wonderful
00:44:55.364 opportunities for those of us maybe for the very first time putting our
00:44:59.284 trust in Jesus, and even further equipping for us who've been walking with
00:45:03.144 Jesus, but desire to continue to be bold in our faith
00:45:07.124 to share the good news with others.
00:45:09.264 First and foremost, next Sunday, immediately following the
00:45:13.224 second service, we have what we call our Next Steps class.
00:45:16.334 This is a class designed and tailored to help you discover your unique
00:45:20.184 gifting in God, how God has wired and designed you to make an
00:45:23.644 impact in your world, that you can step out in boldness and share your faith.
00:45:27.964 Also have an opportunity to learn more about Freedom Church, why God has put us
00:45:31.624 here. I would encourage you to take out your phone and get signed up for next week.
00:45:35.624 There are food and childcare provided, so we just want to be prepared to host
00:45:39.564 you for next Sunday. A great way to get equipped and further plugged
00:45:43.564 in here at Freedom Church. And perhaps you just made the decision
00:45:47.464 or recently made the decision to follow Jesus, to begin that
00:45:50.904 relationship with Him. We have an opportunity coming up on Sunday,
00:45:54.824 August 30th for water baptisms. This is a great practical way to
00:45:58.744 share your faith, to share your testimony, what Jesus has
00:46:02.104 done in your life publicly before your church family.
00:46:05.624 In public, declare in front of all of us as we celebrate with you what
00:46:09.584 Jesus has done for you. That when you're dunked under the water, your old life in
00:46:13.344 Christ has been buried, and as you rise up, you have a new life, a
00:46:17.384 new relationship with Jesus that you get to live out.
00:46:21.104 So maybe you were baptized as a baby even, and you want to make a personal
00:46:24.874 decision here and now. Many different opportunities and walks
00:46:28.824 of life that I think this is applicable for you.
00:46:32.544 If you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them, or you can scan the QR
00:46:36.004 code and get signed up for water baptisms on Sunday, August
00:46:39.984 30th. It's going to be a great and awesome time.
00:46:42.864 And last but certainly not least, another opportunity we have to demonstrate
00:46:46.824 our faith. I want everybody to take out your cellphone.
00:46:49.224 We're going to do a church exercise together, do some jumping jacks and some
00:46:53.064 sit-ups. Now, just take out your cellphone. Won't be that intense.
00:46:55.664 Everybody has a cellphone?
00:46:57.964 Don't take a picture of me. My wife is aiming a camera at me. This is not...
00:47:01.804 Get out of the way. I want you to take out your cellphone, and I want you to scan
00:47:04.504 that QR code. What it's going to do is going to take you to a link on the
00:47:08.304 church website where you can follow different social media
00:47:12.064 platforms that we have out there, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
00:47:16.264 And really what I want to stir us and encourage us to do in
00:47:19.824 applying what we just heard is take a moment throughout the week this
00:47:23.324 week and simply share a post. Pastor Eric shared a lot of
00:47:27.144 Bible, a lot of basic truth on who Jesus is.
00:47:30.764 This could be an opportunity for you to share your faith and to get it out there.
00:47:34.444 So I encourage you to scan that QR code, follow the church media platform this
00:47:38.024 week, and there will be different Reels and sermon excerpts that you can just quick
00:47:42.004 and hit Share. And just to stay in touch throughout the week, I don't know about
00:47:45.764 you, but I'm quick to forget pretty easily, so it's just nice even for me
00:47:49.384 personally to have those reminders from the sermon throughout the week
00:47:53.224 there as well. If everybody could please stand to your feet. I'm going to pray.
00:47:56.564 Whenever I'm finished, you are dismissed.
00:48:01.844 Jesus, we are so grateful. Thank you, God, that you are not ashamed of us,
00:48:06.284 that in the midst of our sin, in the midst of our helplessness, God.
00:48:09.784 When we were lost, when we were blind, and we didn't even know we needed a savior,
00:48:13.484 Lord God, that you weren't ashamed of us first.
00:48:16.544 That you loved us, and you laid down your life for us, and you gave all for
00:48:20.444 us, Lord. Help us, Father, to respond just with
00:48:24.044 sincere surrender, with thankfulness, and
00:48:28.064 boldness, Jesus, not being ashamed of you.
00:48:30.834 Lord, I thank you that you give us opportunities every single day that we can make
00:48:34.784 an impact for eternity. Your Holy Spirit in us and
00:48:38.664 with us, transforming and empowering others to know that
00:48:42.444 they themselves can also be forgiven, can also be free,
00:48:46.464 can also walk with security and eternity.
00:48:50.224 God, I ask that you'd open our eyes this week, open doors and avenues for us to
00:48:53.444 share our faith, whether it be sharing a Reel or a post on
00:48:57.284 Facebook or Instagram, or maybe a conversation we get to strike up with a
00:49:00.924 coworker. God, I ask that your Holy Spirit would make us sensitive and
00:49:04.624 ready to these divine opportunities as you desire to
00:49:08.604 work in us and through us, and I thank you that we will be transformed as a result,
00:49:12.964 that we would take part in a special place of your heart as we see
00:49:17.044 more and more people come to you. It's in your precious name we pray, amen and
00:49:20.644 amen. Have an awesome week, everyone.