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Sharing the Gospel with Christians (Romans 1:8-15) | Louis Azuma
01:18 Preparing for Fellowship with Christians
05:03 The Importance of Bringing the Gospel
06:37 Giving God the Credit for Faith and Grace
13:56 The Value of Christian Community
17:29 The Importance of Physical Presence
20:40 Giving and Receiving in Fellowship
22:56 Are You a Producer or a Consumer?
26:10 Mutual Encouragement in Faith
29:05 Never Move On from the Gospel
31:36 The Obligation to Share the Gospel
35:14 Concluding Prayer and Reflection
Transcript
Romans one is where we're gonna be.
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:Romans one starting in verse eight.
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:Romans one, verse eight.
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:Now, when I first started
dating people, I really, really,
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:really tried to be prepared.
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:'cause I didn't wanna be that guy
that just shows up on a date and just
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:doesn't really know what to say, right?
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:I didn't wanna show up on
the date and be like, uh, hi.
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:You know, I wanted, I
didn't wanna be awkward.
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:I wanted to be able to
have things to talk about.
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:I didn't wanna, you know, be
that awkward guy on a date.
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:So I really, really prepared.
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:I, I wanted to show up with, okay,
what sort of questions should I ask?
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:What are some good things
I should get to know?
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:I even wanted to come to
the date with like a plan.
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:Okay.
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:If the date goes well, if, if, if dinner
with this really cute girl at Mod Pizza
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:goes, well, then maybe afterward we
should go to handles and get ice cream.
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:That would be a good backup plan
to do, and hopefully, um, you
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:know, and the rest is history.
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:We should end up rapping in the car
and we ended up getting married.
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:So, um, yeah, but you,
I wanted to have a plan.
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:I wanted to have a plan.
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:I wanted to be prepared.
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:And so I came ready.
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:I stood up to that date ready.
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:I was like, okay, here's what we're like.
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:I had things that maybe we would be
good to talk about, things, maybe
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:questions that I wanted to ask,
things I wanted to know about her.
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:I, I came prepared.
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:And now it's one thing to prepare for a
date, which you should do, by the way,
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:especially gentlemen, if you're gonna ask
someone on a date, you should be prepared.
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:But also what you may not have
thought about is you should prepare
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:for your time with other Christians.
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:Whenever you show up to church on
a Sunday, whenever you show up to
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:True North on a Wednesday, whenever
you hang out with your Christian
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:friends, whenever you hang out with
anyone, you wanna show up prepared.
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:And today we're gonna see what
the Apostle Paul, the, the writer
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:of the book of Romans brings
when he wants to go see them.
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:When Paul goes to see other
Christians, what does he bring?
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:How is he prepared to talk to
them and to live with them?
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:That's what we're gonna find
out here in the book of Romans.
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:Okay, so we're gonna look at
chapter one verses eight through 15.
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:I'm gonna read it real quick and just
do some explaining and then we're gonna
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:go, go through the rest of the sermon.
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:Okay?
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:So read along with me, verse eight.
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:First, first thing Paul Paul's gonna say
in this letter, I thank my God through
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:Jesus Christ for all of you, because your
faith is proclaimed in all the world.
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:So he's thankful that
their faith is famous.
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:Romans are famous for their faith.
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:Verse nine, for God is my witness
whom I serve with my spirit
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:and the gospel of his son.
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:So he is like, I, God
knows what I'm gonna say.
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:It's definitely true.
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:What's he gonna say?
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:That without ceasing, I mention
you always in my prayers.
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:I'm always praying about you asking
that somehow by God's will I may now
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:at last succeed in coming to you.
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:So he really wants to go see them.
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:He's been praying for it a lot.
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:Verse 11, four, because I long to see
you, I really want to be with you.
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:Why?
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:So that I may impart to you some
spiritual gift to strengthen you.
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:Now we'll talk about more
about that we what that means.
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:But he's got something that he wants to
give them that's gonna make them stronger.
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:It's gonna make their souls stronger.
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:Verse 12.
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:That is, what does that mean?
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:What does that spiritual gift?
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:Well, that we may be mutually
encouraged by each other's Faith,
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:I want you to see my faith.
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:I wanna see your faith and
it's gonna be encouraging.
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:It's gonna be good for
us, both yours and mine.
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:Verse 13.
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:I don't want you to be unaware, brothers
that I have often intended to come to you.
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:Thus far I've been prevented.
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:So I've really been trying, I haven't
been able to make it yet in order that
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:I may reap some harvest among you.
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:Now what does that mean?
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:As well as among the rest of the gentiles?
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:I think that's similar to what
he's been talking about earlier.
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:He wants to be encouraged.
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:He wants to grow.
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:He wants them to grow.
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:He wants to give them this spiritual
gift, which is he just wants to help them
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:love Jesus more and follow Jesus better.
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:And that's the the result he wants to see.
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:That's the harvest he wants to gain.
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:Verse 14, I am under obligation
to both Greeks and to barbarians.
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:Now that sounds weird, Greeks.
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:Those are like the smart
people of the age barbarians.
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:Those are the not so smart people.
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:They made fun of their language 'cause
it was probably similar to German and
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:it sounded like bar, bar, bar, bar, bar.
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:So that's what they called
them, the barbarians.
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:So the Greeks, the smart people,
and the not so smart people, both
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:to the wise and to the foolish.
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:Verse 15.
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:So I am eager to preach the gospel
to you also who are in Rome.
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:So Paul, he's, he really
wants to see the Romans.
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:He really wants to give them something.
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:And the last thing he says is, I want
to preach the gospel to you guys who
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:are in Rome, are the Romans Christians.
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:Think about what we started this
letter with to those who are loved
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:by God and called to be saints.
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:Are those people Christians?
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:Yes.
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:Paul wants to preach the gospel
to the Christians in Rome.
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:Is that weird to anyone?
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:If I said, you know what we're gonna do
on Sunday with all the Christians come
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:to church, we're gonna preach the gospel.
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:Would that be kind of
weird for you or not?
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:That's what Paul's saying.
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:He's saying, when I, when I get to
Rome, you guys are all Christians.
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:You guys are all loved by God.
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:You guys are all set apart.
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:You're saved.
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:I want to preach the gospel to you.
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:That's weird.
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:That's weird, at least
from our perspective.
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:'cause we think, oh, well the
gospel is what gets people saved.
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:But what I want you to know about when
you go to hang out with Christians.
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:When you spend time at church,
when you come to True North,
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:I want you to come prepared.
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:And so our main point tonight is
when you hang out with Christians,
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:bring the gospel with you.
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:When you spend time with your brothers
and sisters in Christ on Sunday
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:morning, Wednesday night, you're
hanging out with them at school.
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:I want you to bring the gospel with you.
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:Don't leave it behind.
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:Don't forget about it.
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:Don't say, that's just for the,
the unbelievers, the gospel.
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:That's, that's the best thing you can
bring when you hang out with a Christian.
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:The gospel is the best
thing you can take with you.
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:So Paul, the first thing he does is
he gives God the credit for something.
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:He says, I thank God for something.
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:What's Paul gonna thank God for?
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:Well, let's see, verse eight.
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:What does Paul thank God for?
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:First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ
for all of you, because of your faith.
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:It's famous, right?
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:It's proclaimed through all the world Now.
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:Who's the one showing the faith?
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:The Romans.
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:So why does Paul thank God?
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:Why doesn't he say, I'm so grateful
to you guys for being so awesome?
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:You guys are so faithful.
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:You guys trust God so much.
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:He's saying, I thank God for it.
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:The reason he does that is because
their faith comes from God.
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:So he's giving God the credit for it.
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:He's saying, Romans, you
guys trust God so much.
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:That's 'cause of God.
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:So I'm gonna thank God for that
because God gets the credit.
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:So our first point tonight, give
God the credit for faith and grace.
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:We'll get to that grace
part in just a second.
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:But give God the credit
for faith and grace.
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:When you see someone trusting God, you
want to give God the credit for that.
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:And to you that might seem super
elementary, there's actually
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:some ways that we don't do that.
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:Give God the credit for faith.
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:And grace.
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:Now Paul says, I'm thankful for your
faith because your faith is famous.
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:Well, how do you see faith?
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:You can't see faith, right?
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:Like, I can't see.
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:Oh, you know what?
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:This is how much Mr.
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:Clancy trusts God.
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:I can see his faith.
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:I, well, how do I see that?
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:Remember what we talked about last week?
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:Faith and obedience
are inseparable, right?
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:The obedience of faith,
it's faith and obedience.
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:They're, they're, they're always together.
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:You can't separate them.
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:How is your faith talked about?
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:Well, it's when people see this, right?
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:So what, what Paul is also saying is I'm
also thanking God for how you obey him.
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:He sees the Romans maybe
sharing the gospel with people.
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:He sees the Romans maybe
loving to hear from God's word.
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:He sees maybe, oh yeah, that that
church in Rome, they're always praying.
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:They love praying.
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:They, they meet together
and they pray all the time.
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:That church in Rome, they're so generous.
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:The church in Rome, they
love people so well.
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:They love strangers so well.
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:He sees all these things about
the church in Rome, and he
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:says, that's from your faith.
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:But all the things that you do
are a product of your faith,
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:and that comes from God.
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:So I'm gonna praise God for
what you guys are doing.
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:He's giving God the credit for
things that the Romans are doing.
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:And that's because if faith
comes from God, that means your
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:obedience comes from God as well.
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:So maybe this is a simple thing for you.
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:Do you give God the
credit when you obey him?
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:When you do something for the
Lord, do you give God the credit
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:or do you say, you know what?
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:I'm so glad that, that I did that.
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:That was such a good thing that I did.
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:And you think about yourself, you're
like, man, I read and write Bible.
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:I listen to sermons, I pray,
and you give yourself all that.
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:I worked really hard to do that.
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:You know, I really studied the Bible.
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:I really, you know, I
watched this, this sermon.
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:I listened to this thing
and I did this for me.
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:Sometimes we, we do that as
Christians, sometimes as Christians
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:we say, I did all this stuff.
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:When really Paul is saying, God did that.
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:God is the one who should get the credit
for the things that you do, which sounds
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:weird, but that's because God is the one
who gives you the, the faith to do them,
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:and also gives you the grace to do them.
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:And see, we see that even in this
same, this same verse, right?
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:I'm gonna show you some
more of verse five.
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:We, so the same, same verse, we've
received grace in apostleship.
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:So Paul's gotten grace and he's
gotten his calling as an apostle
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:to bring about obedience of faith.
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:How does he do that?
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:He preaches the gospel, so
the gospel of grace, right?
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:The, the good news of God's grace
comes to Paul and then he brings
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:it as an apostle to Rome, and then
they trust God and they obey him.
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:You see that we go from
gospel to grace to obedience.
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:That's God's progression
of how people follow him.
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:The gospel gives them grace, and that
grace produces faith and obedience.
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:That's how God thinks your good
works happen, and that's how we
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:should think our good works happen.
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:It's not, I heard a sermon, I tried
really hard and then I obeyed God.
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:God says, no, you heard the good
news and that gave you the grace and
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:the faith to do good things for God.
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:So God gets the credit.
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:'cause God's the source.
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:God's the source of all your good works.
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:Every time that you had a desire to read
the Bible, that's God's work in you.
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:Every time that you wanted to show
compassion to someone, even when
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:they were really annoying or you were
really patient with someone or really
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:gentle with someone, that's God, right?
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:Every time that, that, you
wanna be generous with someone,
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:maybe with your money or your
time, that's God at work in you.
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:So God gets the credit.
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:God's the one doing it.
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:Every time you wanted
to pray, God did that.
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:Prayer is actually God saying,
Hey, you should talk to me.
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:And then he gives you desire
to talk to him and you pray.
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:So all of these things that you do
for God, God gets the credit for them.
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:'cause they're, they all come from God.
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:Your obedience is brought about by grace.
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:Every good deed, every good thought, every
good emotion you have comes from God.
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:And so God should get the credit.
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:And so we shouldn't be
like, oh, look at me.
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:Look how godly I am.
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:Look at all the things I've done.
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:That is something that we do.
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:But other things that we might
do that this could help with
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:is maybe sometimes you think, I
could never be like that person.
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:I could never pray like that person.
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:I could never know as much as that person.
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:I could never be as
patient as that person.
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:I could never, I can never be as
excited about God as that person.
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:Well, really, why is that
person so excited about God?
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:Because of God?
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:God helped them do that.
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:God enabled them,
empowered them to do that.
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:So really you don't have to be discouraged
because the same God who get got that
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:person so excited about evangelism
can get you excited about evangelism.
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:The same God who helps that
person understand the Bible can
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:help you understand the Bible.
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:The same God who helps that person
be generous and, and trust Him, can
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:help you be generous and trust him.
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:So if you look at other people, other,
maybe you didn't grow up in a Christian
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:home, or maybe you just feel like you
don't get it as much as other people,
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:God is the one who, who gives people
the grace to obey him and to trust him.
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:So you don't have to say, well,
you know, well I'm, I'm just,
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:my parents, just, they're not as
godly as that person's parents.
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:Or, I don't know as much of
the Bible as that person.
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:Well, God is the one who
enables you to do that.
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:And so you can say, you know what?
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:The same God who helped them do that
is the one who can help me do that.
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:So you don't have to be discouraged
and think, oh, well that person
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:is so much, so much better
than me, so much Godly than me.
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:I could never be like them.
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:God is the one who gives
you the strength to do that.
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:And so you can trust him to,
to do those things as well.
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:You don't have to look at someone
and compare yourself and be like,
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:oh, I can never be like them
because God's the one who did it.
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:You can be that way because of God,
the same way you depend on God.
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:You trust him.
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:He gives you the grace to follow him.
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:So God gets the credit
for faith and grace.
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:So we shouldn't be discouraged
when we see other people and
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:we're like, oh, I'm not there yet.
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:That's okay.
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:'cause God helped him do that.
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:And also we shouldn't be prideful because
we don't wanna say, well, look at me.
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:I did all this great stuff for God.
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:'cause God's the one who helped you.
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:So we don't wanna steal God's
glory by saying, well, look at me.
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:I did so, so great.
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:I learned all these things.
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:I tried really hard.
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:That's because of God.
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:Even your own effort.
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:Maybe you did try really hard.
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:That's because of God.
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:God enables you to do those things.
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:So God gets the credit for every good
thing that happens from any Christian
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:because it's from grace through faith.
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:So you might have noticed also that
in his passage, Paul really, really,
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:really wants to see them, right?
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:Did you catch that?
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:He says it a few times.
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:God is my witness whom I
serve that without seizing.
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:I mention you all the time in my prayers
asking that by somehow, by God's will, I
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:might come to you for I long to see you.
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:He really, really, really, really,
really, really wants to see them,
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:or he really wants to see them.
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:Now, I said this to our leaders earlier.
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:Paul is writing a book
of the Bible to them.
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:He's writing the greatest
letter of all time to these
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:Reese Romans, and he's saying.
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:I wanna see you.
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:I wanna be with you.
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:There's something unique and special
about physically being with you.
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:There's something that I can do
as Apostle Paul being with you,
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:that the book of Romans can't.
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:That's crazy.
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:The book of Romans can
only do these things.
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:But me physically being with you, there's
something unique and special about that.
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:That's crazy.
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:And now in, in our age, we might
think that going together to church,
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:physically being with someone, meeting
with someone, to read the Bible,
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:meeting with someone, to pray to them
or pray with them, right, that don't
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:pray to people that's a bad idea.
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:They can't help you.
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:God has designed us to, to
physically be together with people.
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:There's something unique about that.
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:And Paul wants to do it so that
he can encourage them and so
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:that they can encourage him.
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:So, point to spend time with Christians
both to give and to get spend time with
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:Christians, both to give and to get.
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:So Paul thinks that his
letter is not enough for them.
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:He's writing 16 chapters to them
and he's saying, you know what?
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:There's, there's something special and
something unique that that could happen.
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:If I was with you,
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:there's something unique I can give
to you that I wouldn't be able to
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:give to you without this letter.
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:Now, in case you didn't get enough
of prepositions in your first
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:week at school, here you go.
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:So Paul wants to see them.
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:Why?
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:Why does he wanna see them?
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:See all the green, that those are
purpose clauses, purpose statement.
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:Whenever you see something like that
in the Bible, that something like
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:that, in the Bible, it's a purpose.
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:Why do, why does he wanna see them?
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:So that he can impart a,
some kind of spiritual gift?
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:Why?
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:To strengthen them.
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:And in case he thought that was
confusing, Paul's gonna explain it.
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:That is that we may be mutually
encouraged by each other's faith.
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:So I wanna, I wanna see you, I wanna
be together so I can strengthen
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:you and so that I can encourage
your faith and mutually so you can
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:encourage my faith to give and to
get, I want to give you encouragement
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:and I want to get encouraged by you.
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:That's what Paul wants.
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:And then something else he
wants is in order that I may
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:reap some harvest among you.
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:I think there, he's talking
about fruit of the spirit, right?
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:Galatians five, he talks about fruit.
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:He talks about love, joy, peace.
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:He wants to see that grow in them.
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:He wants to see those
qualities strengthened in them.
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:So Paul.
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:Is convinced that being together with
them can accomplish this in a unique way.
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:You can't be a Christian
without other Christians.
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:If you think that you can be a
Christian and never spend time with
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:other Christians, you're wrong.
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:You're doing it wrong.
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:If you think about all the things
that God wants Christians to do,
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:love one another, how can you
do that if you never spend time?
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:Well, I can send 'em encouraging texts.
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:Encouraging text is not the same as
physical, personal, encouragement.
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:There's something different about looking
someone in the eye and telling them
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:something that's different than a text.
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:Well, what about FaceTime?
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:Again, it's, it's different.
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:It's not the same.
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:It's something unique.
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:It tangible about being in the same
room about eye contact, intonation, and.
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:Physical presence,
three-dimensional there.
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:There's something unique about it.
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:You're in a, you can't
give someone a hug, right?
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:You can't, which sounds silly,
but you can give someone a hug
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:for the glory of God and encourage
them and comfort them, right?
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:There's something unique
about those things.
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:Take it from someone who dated
long distance for two years.
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:There's something unique about being
in person, even if all you're doing is
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:talking, there's something different.
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:You can't be a Christian
without other Christians.
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:You can't love one another the same way.
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:You can't forgive each other the same way.
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:You can't serve each other the same way.
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:You can't be patient with
someone the same way.
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:Think about all those one
another commands in the Bible.
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:You can't be a Christian
without other Christians.
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:So if you're a Christian who
thinks, well, you know what?
408
:All these other Christians,
they're kind of lame.
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:They're not good enough.
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:For me, Paul would say, look,
I'm the apostle Paul and I need
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:to be around other Christians.
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:The, probably the the godliest man
who ever lived besides Jesus is
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:saying, I want to be with them.
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:And so if, if, and you're not the
apostle Paul, and so you need to
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:be around other Christians too.
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:You can't be a Christian
without other Christians.
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:So when you grow up in, in 20 years
and you have the option to go to
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:metaverse church or VR church, which you
probably will, what are you gonna do?
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:You can't obey God.
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:The same way in virtual reality
church, virtual reality, small group,
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:virtual reality, accountability
meeting, it's not the same.
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:You can't do it.
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:God made you if, if God wanted you to be
a, a hologram or an avatar, you would be,
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:God designed you to have a physical body.
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:God came down and lived in a physical
body because that's how God designed us
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:to, to live the best way for his glory.
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:So you have to be in person
together to do things.
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:As a Christian, you can't
be a lone ranger Christian.
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:You can't be an an independent Christian.
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:Right?
431
:Paul would say that's like an eyeball
saying, I don't need the rest of the body.
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:An eyeball on its own not
gonna do much for you.
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:That's if, if you're a a,
do it yourself, lone ranger.
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:I don't need anyone else.
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:Christian.
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:If you're someone who never shares
anything about yourself in small
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:groups, because you wanna act
like you have your whole life
438
:together, you're doing it wrong.
439
:You're just like a, a, a severed
hand flopping around and you
440
:think you're doing great.
441
:You can't be a Christian
without other Christians.
442
:But see, Paul, he wants to come.
443
:Why?
444
:One, to strengthen their
faith and then two to also.
445
:Be encouraged.
446
:He wants to give and he wants to.
447
:Yes.
448
:So let's focus on the give part.
449
:What does he wanna give to them?
450
:He wants to help them.
451
:He wants to help 'em grow.
452
:He wants 'em to love Jesus
more because he's there.
453
:So I wanna ask you, why do you spend
time with people when you come to
454
:church on Sunday, when you come to
True North on Wednesday, when you hang
455
:out with your friend at lunch, your
Christian friend at lunch, or when
456
:you meet up with, with your friends to
hang out with them, why are you there?
457
:What are you bringing to the table?
458
:Are you coming with the intention
of I want them to love Jesus more
459
:when I leave than when I got here?
460
:That's what Paul is saying.
461
:He's saying, I wanna be in
Rome so that when I leave Rome,
462
:you guys have stronger faith.
463
:Have you ever thought about that before?
464
:I'm coming to true North on Wednesday
so that my small group can have
465
:stronger faith because I was there.
466
:That's, that's the way Paul
comes prepared to church.
467
:Paul comes to church on Sunday thinking.
468
:I want them to love Jesus
more because I was there.
469
:That's what Paul, that's what Paul thinks.
470
:He says, I want, he's thinking,
I wanna ask them questions.
471
:I wanna maybe share something about
myself or, or share something I learned
472
:in the Bible or pray together with them.
473
:I want to, I wanna do things
while I'm together with them
474
:to help them love Jesus.
475
:I wanna strengthen their faith.
476
:I want them to maybe learn things
about being a Christian that
477
:they wouldn't have known before.
478
:I want them to maybe feel
encouraged because maybe they
479
:struggle with the same sin I do.
480
:And they heard, you know, oh, there's
someone else who feels that way.
481
:Right?
482
:It's not just teaching people
things, it's also sharing, like,
483
:you know, I struggle with this.
484
:And you say that in small groups and
maybe for the first time someone says,
485
:oh man, I'm so glad that someone else
struggles with that and it's not just me.
486
:And they're encouraged by that.
487
:And they say, okay, it's, I can, I can
do this because they battled the sin too,
488
:and they're seeing God strengthen them.
489
:And I know that I can
trust God to do that too.
490
:And I wouldn't have known that if
you didn't open up and say something.
491
:Paul comes to to give, he comes to
church to give, he comes to hang out
492
:with his Romans friends to, to give,
he wants to give them something.
493
:He wants to give them faith.
494
:He wants to help them love Jesus.
495
:So why do you come to these things, right?
496
:The way I was talking about this with
Ezekiel actually earlier, are you
497
:a producer or are you a consumer?
498
:Remember these things?
499
:The food web, remember that?
500
:You've got like the producers
and you've got your, what
501
:are these primary consumers?
502
:Secondary consumers.
503
:Tertiary consumers and like
apex, predator, whatever, right?
504
:Are when you come, when you
come to church, are, are you
505
:just this guy and just taking,
taking, taking, taking, taking?
506
:Or are you giving anything?
507
:Do other people benefit because of you?
508
:Right?
509
:Is true North better because you are here?
510
:Is your small group more
focused because you're there?
511
:Is your small group better off?
512
:Is the discussion better
because you're there at school?
513
:Are your friends more
Christ-like because of you?
514
:That's the question that Paul's asking.
515
:Are you coming to give?
516
:Are you coming to take, are you just
right because you know, you know what
517
:kind of animal that's not on here because
comes and takes these things, right?
518
:No one likes these things.
519
:I thought about putting a
more graphic image up here of
520
:parasites, but I spared you all.
521
:But are you a church parasite?
522
:Are you just sucking the life out of your
small group because you're distracted?
523
:You're unfocused, you're goody two
shoes and, and better than everyone.
524
:You look down on everyone.
525
:You're not vulnerable, you're not honest.
526
:You're pretending to be a Christian.
527
:You, you could be a parasite.
528
:You could just be sucking the
life outta your small group.
529
:Don't be a parasite.
530
:Come to church to give,
come to true north.
531
:Come hang out with your friends to give.
532
:Don't I?
533
:I won't.
534
:I could really talk about
like tapeworms and all that.
535
:Don't you know, don't
be a tapeworm, right?
536
:Don't burrow into your small group
stomach and suck all the life out of 'em.
537
:Don't do that.
538
:And the point of that, the reason
I, I want this to sound gross.
539
:'cause it is gross, right?
540
:If, if you're coming and being
a, you know what Jesus says about
541
:people who cause other people to sin?
542
:He said it'd be better off if you
hung up stone around your neck and
543
:jumped in a lake and drowned yourself.
544
:That's what Jesus says.
545
:If you're causing other people to sin,
you'd be better off drowning yourself.
546
:So don't come to church
and be a bad example.
547
:And be a bad influence,
548
:but also the positive side, right?
549
:Come to church.
550
:To give, come to church
to encourage people.
551
:Think about how can I make
my friend love Jesus today?
552
:What can I share with them that
could help them love Jesus?
553
:What can I pray with them?
554
:Maybe you make it your goal.
555
:I wanna pray with someone
at True North on Wednesday.
556
:Maybe that's what you say.
557
:I just wanna, you know, and, or maybe
you say, I, I wanna come to True North
558
:and my goal is to, to encourage someone.
559
:I wanna think about something, you
know, oh, this person in my small group,
560
:they, they just, they're, they're,
they always are honest and I appreciate
561
:that, and I wanna encourage them, bless.
562
:Maybe that's your goal, but
think about things like that.
563
:What can I, what can I bring to the table?
564
:But then also, right, you're not just
always giving, giving, giving, right?
565
:You're not just the grass on the bottom
that's just always getting eaten.
566
:You're, you're also getting,
when you come, Paul, he says, I
567
:want to be mutually encouraged.
568
:He's saying, I, I want you to
encourage me and I wanna encourage you.
569
:The Apostle Paul is saying, I'm
gonna be encouraged when I visit the
570
:Romans, so I don't care if you're
the Godliest person in this room.
571
:You can be encouraged when you come to.
572
:You should never think, well, my
small group's just not on my level.
573
:I don't get anything out of it.
574
:There's something wrong with you
if, if that's how you think, because
575
:obviously the Apostle Paul didn't
think that, and you're not Paul, right?
576
:So do you spend time with
people who help you love Jesus?
577
:Are you spending time with
people who help you love Jesus?
578
:That's the first thing, right?
579
:Are you coming to church and
expecting someone to pour into you?
580
:But also, are you easily, are
you, is it easy for you to grow?
581
:I heard someone, they told me this once,
a mature Christian is easily edified.
582
:A mature Christian is easily built up.
583
:It's easy for them to grow because
they, they're, they're so easily they,
584
:they see things about other people.
585
:Man, I love that that person does that.
586
:I love how that person trusts God.
587
:Or, oh, I learned this in the sermon.
588
:Even if I heard it all before,
it was a good reminder.
589
:That's a mature Christian.
590
:Someone who walks away from a sermon
thinking, oh, I heard it all before.
591
:Been there, done that.
592
:That's an immature Christian.
593
:A mature Christian, even if they
heard everything in the sermon
594
:before, says, Hey, I was reminded
of this and that really stood out to
595
:me because of this, this, and this.
596
:That's what mature Christians do.
597
:So be someone who's easily edified.
598
:There's a company, you've
probably seen this logo before.
599
:I had no idea what it actually stood
for, uh, stands for Hewlett Packard.
600
:But this company, they had what's called
an open door policy, and what they did
601
:is any level of the CEO all the way down,
anyone from the business could come into
602
:their office and give 'em ideas, and
that was their, their whole, the whole
603
:thing about the company was if the, even
like the, the lowest level worker has
604
:an idea, we want to hear it because it
might help us, it might make us better.
605
:Right?
606
:Think about, it'd be like on a football
team if like, oh, if the janitor has an
607
:idea about how to make our football team
better, he can go tell the head coach.
608
:We need to have that kind of attitude
with other Christians, you can
609
:learn something from any Christian.
610
:There's, I had my small group leader,
pastor Evan, actually, he told
611
:me this, he said, every person in
the room can teach you something.
612
:Every person in the room
can teach you something.
613
:That's the kind of attitude this company
had, and that's the kind of attitude
614
:I want you to have when you come to
church, when you come to True North,
615
:when you hang out with your friends.
616
:I can learn something from this
person, maybe not directly, but God can
617
:teach me something from this person.
618
:God can teach me something
from this small group.
619
:God can teach me something
from this sermon.
620
:So we wanna spend time with Christians
to give, to encourage them, to
621
:strengthen their faith and to get,
because we know that we can learn
622
:from everyone and God can use anyone
to teach us something that we need.
623
:But lastly, you probably noticed that Paul
was excited to preach the gospel, right?
624
:He was, he's eager to preach the
gospel to, to the people in Rome.
625
:How often do you think
Paul preached the gospel?
626
:A lot.
627
:Right?
628
:And he's still excited about it.
629
:He's still excited.
630
:He's like, I am so excited to preach
the gospel to people who've already
631
:heard it and been saved by it.
632
:Isn't that cool?
633
:The, the Romans know the gospel.
634
:The Romans have been saved.
635
:The Romans clearly have good theology.
636
:'cause he wrote them this giant
letter about theology and he didn't
637
:say anything really bad about them.
638
:Some of Paul's letters, he's
like, Hey guys, come on.
639
:We gotta like you.
640
:You should be better by now, right?
641
:Um, like, you know, in most La Paul's
letters, he's like super happy at the
642
:beginning and he's praising God for them.
643
:Some letters like Galatians, he's like, he
doesn't even say anything like positive.
644
:He's like, what happened, guys?
645
:I left and what went wrong?
646
:That's how Galatians is.
647
:So Rome is, is overall good letter, but
he's excited to preach the gospel to them.
648
:Paul is never bored of it.
649
:Remember last week, he, he's talking about
all about the gospel gospel's about Jesus,
650
:and he's talking so much about Jesus.
651
:Paul is not bored of the gospel.
652
:Go.
653
:Paul is eager to preach the gospel.
654
:So 0.3
655
:for all of us.
656
:Never move on from the gospel.
657
:Paul is preaching the gospel to
Christians and he expects them to grow.
658
:He expects it to strengthen them.
659
:He expects it to encourage them, and
Paul expects to be encouraged as well.
660
:Paul is so excited about the gospel and
honestly, excitement is always the best
661
:motive for telling anyone anything, right?
662
:When you're excited about something,
you just naturally wanna tell people.
663
:When you hear a song you
really like, you're like, oh,
664
:guys, have you seen this song?
665
:Or you see a funny reel and you're like,
oh, I'm gonna send this to everyone.
666
:Excitement just naturally
causes you to share things.
667
:So if you're out there and you're
scared to share the gospel, the best
668
:thing to do is get excited about it.
669
:Be like, Paul, be more excited.
670
:That's why Paul always was
sharing the gospel because he
671
:was so excited about the gospel.
672
:So what do you get excited about?
673
:Think about that.
674
:That says a lot about you.
675
:What do I get excited about?
676
:What do I get bored by?
677
:That also says a lot about you.
678
:Is the gospel boring to you?
679
:Is it like, oh yeah, I've
heard that before Jesus died.
680
:Cool.
681
:Is that boring or is that exciting?
682
:Jesus died for me.
683
:Jesus loved me enough to to die.
684
:Jesus rose from the dead and
defeated death so I don't have
685
:to be scared of it anymore.
686
:That's exciting.
687
:So sharing the gospel is motivated
by excitement in the gospel.
688
:And Paul, we see this in verses 14 and 15.
689
:He thinks the Romans need the gospel.
690
:He says he's under obligation.
691
:He's like in debt to all these
people to preach the gospel to them.
692
:So what's interesting here, this,
this word, I'm not gonna explain all
693
:this, I don't have time, but this
word under obligation, Paul's saying
694
:it's like I'm in debt to all these
people to share the gospel with them.
695
:I think some of us, we
think about the gospel.
696
:We think the gospel puts me in debt to
God, and then we try to live the rest
697
:of our Christian life trying to repay
God for all that he's done for me.
698
:That's not grace.
699
:If I give you grace and you try to pay
me back, that's not how Grace works.
700
:You don't pay someone back for grace.
701
:That'd be like if you got a
birthday present and you said,
702
:oh, how much did this cost you?
703
:Okay, let me get you however much money
this cost you and give it back, right?
704
:Let's say you got a $50 gift card to
Target for your birthday and you were
705
:like, oh, thanks for the gift here.
706
:Here's $50.
707
:It's not a gift anymore.
708
:You just paid for it.
709
:Paul is not in debt to God
because he received grace.
710
:See that?
711
:That's the connection to verse five.
712
:Paul received grace and apostleship.
713
:He's not in debt to God.
714
:He's in debt to other people.
715
:Paul's not trying to repay God for
saving him 'cause then it wouldn't
716
:be grace anymore if you're, that's
you trying to earn your salvation.
717
:Have you ever thought about that?
718
:That way if you're trying to repay
God, it's actually you trying to
719
:earn your salvation because you're
trying to get rid of your debt to God.
720
:If you're out of debt to
God, then you earned it.
721
:That's not how grace works.
722
:You don't repay God for being good to you.
723
:The way Grace works is it puts Paul in
debt to other people who might not have
724
:received that grace yet, because they
haven't heard the same message he has.
725
:And so he wants to go tell them.
726
:That's why he's in debt to them.
727
:He's in debt to other people
because they need to hear the
728
:same message that he heard.
729
:So he's under obligation to share the
gospel, to share grace with people.
730
:So maybe you're a Christian
who's selfish with the gospel.
731
:Maybe you, you got saved and
you're like, great, I'm saved.
732
:But I don't want those people to
be saved 'cause they're bad people.
733
:What does that say about you?
734
:Right?
735
:That says that you think you
deserved it and they didn't.
736
:Right?
737
:If you, if you don't wanna share the
gospel with someone because you don't
738
:like them, or you don't think they're
good enough, or they're too sinful.
739
:You're saying that you weren't too sinful.
740
:You're saying that there was
something about you that made you
741
:you special to receive the gospel.
742
:Something about you that
made you deserve it.
743
:So don't be selfish
with the gospel, right?
744
:Don't, don't withhold it from people.
745
:You're actually obligated
to share it with people.
746
:That's what Paul's saying here.
747
:You don't choose who's worthy
of the gospel 'cause no
748
:one's worthy of the gospel.
749
:But then also, do you still think you
need the gospel As a Christian, Paul
750
:thinks the Romans need the gospel.
751
:And so the gospel helps Christians live.
752
:It doesn't just help unbelievers get
saved, it helps Christians live, right?
753
:And we are, hopefully, we'll talk about
that in your 10 minutes of small groups.
754
:But the, the gospel helps Christians live.
755
:And so, so when you spend time
with Christians, make sure
756
:you bring the gospel with you.
757
:Don't leave the gospel at your conversion.
758
:Take it with you.
759
:Give it to everyone you know,
Christians and non-Christians alike.
760
:Let's pray and we'll get to small groups.
761
:God thank you that you wanted
to share the gospel with us.
762
:You didn't have to, you weren't
obligated to do anything good for us.
763
:The only obligation you had was to be a
good judge and to send us to hell, but
764
:instead you showed great mercy to us.
765
:And so I pray that we would be
amazed by that, that we would
766
:be, um, amazed that you would
forgive us, that you would love us.
767
:We would not be like the unforgiving
servant in the parable that your son told
768
:that, um, is forgiven a lot and then won't
forgive other people who sin against him.
769
:I pray that we would be overwhelmed by
the gospel, excited about the gospel,
770
:and that we would come to, to our
time with other Christians ready to
771
:love them, ready to encourage them.
772
:Pray this in Jesus name.
773
:Amen
