Title: Grieving and Sending with a Gospel Heart Meta: In view of the brevity of our life, and the great need for more Biblical churches, we should be those who go out with a heart for the lost and seek to proclaim the Gospel. "I want to weave together three heartfelt thoughts into one message that I hope will give everyone here comfort, and consolation, and encouragement." - Ryan Fullerton Tags: death,grieving 1 00:00:02,679 --> 00:00:07,616 Romans 1:1-17 is Paul's introduction 2 00:00:07,616 --> 00:00:09,235 to the book of Romans. 3 00:00:09,235 --> 00:00:14,629 We have Paul's authority in v. 1-7, 4 00:00:14,629 --> 00:00:18,541 Paul's heart in v. 8-15, 5 00:00:18,541 --> 00:00:23,440 and Paul's Gospel in v. 16-17. 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,827 Let me read to you this passage. 7 00:00:25,827 --> 00:00:27,479 Romans 1:1-17 8 00:00:27,479 --> 00:00:29,519 And we'll be focusing this morning 9 00:00:29,519 --> 00:00:35,251 specifically on v. 8-15. 10 00:00:35,251 --> 00:00:38,211 This is the Word of the Lord. 11 00:00:38,211 --> 00:00:43,410 "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, 12 00:00:43,410 --> 00:00:46,274 called to be an apostle, 13 00:00:46,274 --> 00:00:50,288 set apart for the Gospel of God, 14 00:00:50,288 --> 00:00:52,865 which He promised beforehand 15 00:00:52,865 --> 00:00:54,804 through His prophets 16 00:00:54,804 --> 00:00:57,197 in the holy Scriptures, 17 00:00:57,197 --> 00:00:59,295 concerning His Son, 18 00:00:59,295 --> 00:01:01,557 Who was descended from David 19 00:01:01,557 --> 00:01:03,452 according to the flesh 20 00:01:03,452 --> 00:01:08,068 and was declared to be the Son of God in power, 21 00:01:08,068 --> 00:01:09,952 according to the Spirit of holiness 22 00:01:09,952 --> 00:01:13,661 by His resurrection from the dead, 23 00:01:13,661 --> 00:01:17,208 Jesus Christ, our Lord, 24 00:01:17,208 --> 00:01:18,884 through Whom we have received 25 00:01:18,884 --> 00:01:21,252 grace and apostleship 26 00:01:21,252 --> 00:01:23,719 to bring about the obedience of faith 27 00:01:23,719 --> 00:01:25,716 for the sake of His name 28 00:01:25,716 --> 00:01:27,976 among all the nations, 29 00:01:27,976 --> 00:01:31,979 including you who are loved by God 30 00:01:31,979 --> 00:01:35,211 and called to be saints. 31 00:01:35,211 --> 00:01:38,361 Grace to you and peace 32 00:01:38,361 --> 00:01:40,563 from God our Father 33 00:01:40,563 --> 00:01:44,839 and the Lord Jesus Christ. 34 00:01:44,839 --> 00:01:49,144 First, I thank my God, 35 00:01:49,144 --> 00:01:51,688 through Jesus Christ 36 00:01:51,688 --> 00:01:53,128 for all of you, 37 00:01:53,128 --> 00:01:55,323 because your faith is proclaimed 38 00:01:55,323 --> 00:01:57,751 in all the world. 39 00:01:57,751 --> 00:01:59,225 For God is my witness, 40 00:01:59,225 --> 00:02:01,437 Whom I serve with my spirit 41 00:02:01,437 --> 00:02:03,067 in the Gospel of His Son, 42 00:02:03,067 --> 00:02:04,787 that without ceasing I mention you 43 00:02:04,787 --> 00:02:06,457 always in my prayers 44 00:02:06,457 --> 00:02:09,949 asking that somehow by God's will 45 00:02:09,949 --> 00:02:13,495 I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 46 00:02:13,495 --> 00:02:15,737 For I long to see you, 47 00:02:15,737 --> 00:02:17,448 that I may impart to you 48 00:02:17,448 --> 00:02:21,533 some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 49 00:02:21,533 --> 00:02:24,916 that is that we may be mutually encouraged 50 00:02:24,916 --> 00:02:26,812 by each other's faith, 51 00:02:26,812 --> 00:02:29,511 both yours and mine. 52 00:02:29,511 --> 00:02:32,369 I want you to know, brothers, 53 00:02:32,369 --> 00:02:35,932 that I have often intended to come to you, 54 00:02:35,932 --> 00:02:38,784 but thus far have been prevented, 55 00:02:38,784 --> 00:02:42,008 in order that I may reap some harvest 56 00:02:42,008 --> 00:02:44,638 among you as well as among 57 00:02:44,638 --> 00:02:47,593 the rest of the Gentiles. 58 00:02:47,593 --> 00:02:52,301 I am under obligation, 59 00:02:52,301 --> 00:02:56,320 both to Greeks and to Barbarians, 60 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,191 both to the wise and to the foolish. 61 00:03:00,191 --> 00:03:02,833 So I am eager to preach the Gospel 62 00:03:02,833 --> 00:03:05,941 to you also who are in Rome. 63 00:03:05,941 --> 00:03:10,325 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, 64 00:03:10,325 --> 00:03:13,567 for it is the power of God for salvation 65 00:03:13,567 --> 00:03:16,892 to everyone who believes, 66 00:03:16,892 --> 00:03:18,632 to the Jew first 67 00:03:18,632 --> 00:03:22,379 and also to the Greek. 68 00:03:22,379 --> 00:03:26,631 For in it the righteousness of God 69 00:03:26,631 --> 00:03:32,869 is revealed from faith for faith, 70 00:03:32,869 --> 00:03:34,487 as it is written, 71 00:03:34,487 --> 00:03:39,162 'the righteous shall live by faith.'" 72 00:03:39,162 --> 00:03:41,528 Father, You are good. 73 00:03:41,528 --> 00:03:45,035 And You have given us a good word, 74 00:03:45,035 --> 00:03:46,447 suitable, 75 00:03:46,447 --> 00:03:47,479 perfect, 76 00:03:47,479 --> 00:03:48,760 consoling, 77 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:50,167 encouraging, 78 00:03:50,167 --> 00:03:51,203 and comforting 79 00:03:51,203 --> 00:03:54,808 in all of the tragedy and the terror 80 00:03:54,808 --> 00:03:56,832 of this life. 81 00:03:56,832 --> 00:03:59,423 Father God, speak to us 82 00:03:59,423 --> 00:04:00,958 by Your Word, Lord. 83 00:04:00,958 --> 00:04:03,345 Weaken us so that we are ready 84 00:04:03,345 --> 00:04:05,659 to both speak it and hear it 85 00:04:05,659 --> 00:04:08,779 in the strength which You supply. 86 00:04:08,779 --> 00:04:10,709 Father, we ask You that You would 87 00:04:10,709 --> 00:04:12,436 pour out Your Spirit now, 88 00:04:12,436 --> 00:04:14,310 and bring Your ministry 89 00:04:14,310 --> 00:04:16,619 as Counselor and Comforter 90 00:04:16,619 --> 00:04:18,254 to Your people. 91 00:04:18,254 --> 00:04:19,746 We pray that You would do this 92 00:04:19,746 --> 00:04:22,056 in Jesus' mighty name, 93 00:04:22,056 --> 00:04:24,648 Amen. 94 00:04:24,648 --> 00:04:28,390 My goal this morning is to weave together 95 00:04:28,390 --> 00:04:30,993 three strands that are coursing 96 00:04:30,993 --> 00:04:33,605 through my heart. 97 00:04:33,605 --> 00:04:36,479 I want to weave together 98 00:04:36,479 --> 00:04:39,260 three heartfelt thoughts 99 00:04:39,260 --> 00:04:40,689 into one message that I hope 100 00:04:40,689 --> 00:04:43,326 will give everyone here comfort 101 00:04:43,326 --> 00:04:45,325 and consolation 102 00:04:45,325 --> 00:04:48,524 and encouragement. 103 00:04:48,524 --> 00:04:49,864 The first strand of thought 104 00:04:49,864 --> 00:04:52,040 that I want to braid together; 105 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,658 the first strand that's running through my heart, 106 00:04:54,658 --> 00:04:57,645 and I'm sure is running through many of your hearts 107 00:04:57,645 --> 00:04:59,988 is the grief we feel 108 00:04:59,988 --> 00:05:03,168 at the sudden and unexpected death 109 00:05:03,168 --> 00:05:06,067 of Lynn Shreve. 110 00:05:06,067 --> 00:05:08,858 Lynn died in her sleep on Friday. 111 00:05:08,858 --> 00:05:11,897 And her death is a tragedy, 112 00:05:11,897 --> 00:05:16,268 not just because she was so young (36); 113 00:05:16,268 --> 00:05:18,505 not just because her marriage was so young, 114 00:05:18,505 --> 00:05:20,604 just about 9 years old, 115 00:05:20,604 --> 00:05:24,645 or her kids were so young or so many, 116 00:05:24,645 --> 00:05:29,154 but her death stings so badly 117 00:05:29,154 --> 00:05:32,577 because her life was so good. 118 00:05:32,577 --> 00:05:35,675 How do you describe Lynn 119 00:05:35,675 --> 00:05:39,427 without using the most glorious descriptions 120 00:05:39,427 --> 00:05:41,122 of Christian womanhood 121 00:05:41,122 --> 00:05:44,797 that can be found in the entire Bible? 122 00:05:44,797 --> 00:05:47,750 All that God calls women to be 123 00:05:47,750 --> 00:05:50,228 as they're made new creations in Christ, 124 00:05:50,228 --> 00:05:54,753 Lynn was well on her way to becoming. 125 00:05:54,753 --> 00:06:00,348 To Jay, her husband, and our beloved pastor, 126 00:06:00,348 --> 00:06:03,427 Lynn was - and I've heard him say this many times - 127 00:06:03,427 --> 00:06:07,337 far more precious than jewels. 128 00:06:07,337 --> 00:06:11,534 Proverbs 31:10 129 00:06:11,534 --> 00:06:15,406 Each of us will be able to look at her children 130 00:06:15,406 --> 00:06:17,252 in the coming months and days 131 00:06:17,252 --> 00:06:18,647 and years to come, 132 00:06:18,647 --> 00:06:21,448 and to say without a shadow of a doubt, 133 00:06:21,448 --> 00:06:23,431 the teaching that your mother gave you 134 00:06:23,431 --> 00:06:26,139 was a graceful garland for your head, 135 00:06:26,139 --> 00:06:28,518 and pendants for your neck. 136 00:06:28,518 --> 00:06:33,020 Proverbs 1:9 137 00:06:33,020 --> 00:06:34,642 To the women of Immanuel, 138 00:06:34,642 --> 00:06:37,332 whether you knew her personally or not, 139 00:06:37,332 --> 00:06:41,499 Lynn was one who taught what is good 140 00:06:41,499 --> 00:06:43,721 and so trained the younger women 141 00:06:43,721 --> 00:06:46,346 to love their husbands and children, 142 00:06:46,346 --> 00:06:47,908 to be self-controlled, 143 00:06:47,908 --> 00:06:49,947 pure, working at home, kind, 144 00:06:49,947 --> 00:06:52,585 and submissive to their husbands 145 00:06:52,585 --> 00:06:55,361 that the Word of God 146 00:06:55,361 --> 00:06:56,566 may not be reviled. 147 00:06:56,566 --> 00:07:00,417 Titus 2:4-5 148 00:07:00,417 --> 00:07:02,494 In a world where the men 149 00:07:02,494 --> 00:07:05,091 degrade biblical womanhood, 150 00:07:05,091 --> 00:07:07,713 and women have wholeheartedly abandoned 151 00:07:07,713 --> 00:07:09,176 biblical womanhood, 152 00:07:09,176 --> 00:07:12,066 Lynn was one who was able to live 153 00:07:12,066 --> 00:07:16,327 and articulate from the Scriptures 154 00:07:16,327 --> 00:07:21,077 the high calling of biblical womanhood. 155 00:07:21,077 --> 00:07:23,806 Lynn was one like Job 156 00:07:23,806 --> 00:07:26,325 who we're told in Job 29, 157 00:07:26,325 --> 00:07:29,621 delivered the poor who cried for help, 158 00:07:29,621 --> 00:07:34,496 and the fatherless who had none to help him. 159 00:07:34,496 --> 00:07:36,149 There are orphans who are today 160 00:07:36,149 --> 00:07:41,357 adopted children because of Lynn and Jay's love. 161 00:07:41,357 --> 00:07:43,268 In Lynn Shreve, we've all seen 162 00:07:43,268 --> 00:07:47,548 an amazing example of biblical religion 163 00:07:47,548 --> 00:07:50,348 which visits orphans and widows 164 00:07:50,348 --> 00:07:53,394 in their affliction and keeps oneself 165 00:07:53,394 --> 00:07:55,140 unstained from the world. 166 00:07:55,140 --> 00:07:58,187 If you've never seen religion 167 00:07:58,187 --> 00:08:01,691 that is consumed with being pure, 168 00:08:01,691 --> 00:08:05,609 and has the brightest and happiest smile, 169 00:08:05,609 --> 00:08:07,152 well, you would have seen it 170 00:08:07,152 --> 00:08:11,554 in the face of Lynn Shreve. 171 00:08:11,554 --> 00:08:13,970 Although the verse in Hebrews 13:7 172 00:08:13,970 --> 00:08:15,570 is originally intended probably 173 00:08:15,570 --> 00:08:16,656 of Christian elders, 174 00:08:16,656 --> 00:08:18,992 I think it is right for us to say of Lynn, 175 00:08:18,992 --> 00:08:21,342 we are to remember your leaders; 176 00:08:21,342 --> 00:08:23,911 those who spoke the Word of God to you. 177 00:08:23,911 --> 00:08:27,817 Consider the outcome of their way of life 178 00:08:27,817 --> 00:08:29,494 and imitate their faith. 179 00:08:29,494 --> 00:08:33,963 God made Lynn so good, 180 00:08:33,963 --> 00:08:36,860 and it's God Who's called Lynn 181 00:08:36,860 --> 00:08:39,987 to Himself for His glory 182 00:08:39,987 --> 00:08:42,089 and by His grace. 183 00:08:42,089 --> 00:08:46,037 But because - now listen to me - 184 00:08:46,037 --> 00:08:48,494 because God made Lynn so good, 185 00:08:48,494 --> 00:08:53,051 it is right for you to grieve, 186 00:08:53,051 --> 00:08:56,761 and wrong not to. 187 00:08:56,761 --> 00:08:58,503 When God gives a good gift, 188 00:08:58,503 --> 00:09:02,594 it is an insult not to praise Him for it. 189 00:09:02,594 --> 00:09:06,346 He's giving it to be praised. 190 00:09:06,346 --> 00:09:11,134 But when God takes a good gift away, 191 00:09:11,134 --> 00:09:13,248 in the words of John Angell James, 192 00:09:13,248 --> 00:09:15,736 He's calling for your grief. 193 00:09:15,736 --> 00:09:17,847 He's calling for you to glorify Him 194 00:09:17,847 --> 00:09:20,860 by acknowledging just how good 195 00:09:20,860 --> 00:09:26,921 what you were given really was. 196 00:09:26,921 --> 00:09:28,969 That's the first strand I want to weave 197 00:09:28,969 --> 00:09:31,538 this morning into a braid of comfort 198 00:09:31,538 --> 00:09:34,524 and consolation and encouragement 199 00:09:34,524 --> 00:09:37,082 this morning. 200 00:09:37,082 --> 00:09:39,875 The second strand of heartfelt thought 201 00:09:39,875 --> 00:09:41,859 running through my heart this morning 202 00:09:41,859 --> 00:09:43,609 is that we are set to commission 203 00:09:43,609 --> 00:09:45,805 three church planters 204 00:09:45,805 --> 00:09:48,315 to replant a church in the needy city 205 00:09:48,315 --> 00:09:50,863 of Charleston. 206 00:09:50,863 --> 00:09:53,245 This morning, we have the amazing privilege 207 00:09:53,245 --> 00:09:55,045 of having with us on the front row, 208 00:09:55,045 --> 00:09:56,606 Mark and Libby Timmons, 209 00:09:56,606 --> 00:09:59,156 who are long-term, faithful members of this church, 210 00:09:59,156 --> 00:10:01,434 and I don't think they'd mind me telling you 211 00:10:01,434 --> 00:10:03,437 who we have seen go from being in a place 212 00:10:03,437 --> 00:10:05,640 where you wouldn't want them to be a pastor, 213 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:07,583 to being in a place where you wouldn't want them 214 00:10:07,583 --> 00:10:10,052 to be anything but a pastor. 215 00:10:10,052 --> 00:10:12,459 It's so amazing to see God's grace 216 00:10:12,459 --> 00:10:15,754 in Mark and Libby Timmon's life. 217 00:10:15,754 --> 00:10:18,722 And to see not only them sent out to Charleston, 218 00:10:18,722 --> 00:10:21,232 but also our pastor for church planting, 219 00:10:21,232 --> 00:10:22,456 Brian Powell, 220 00:10:22,456 --> 00:10:24,866 and our soon-to-be, we hope, 221 00:10:24,866 --> 00:10:28,921 a pastor we'll send out: Drew McFarland. 222 00:10:28,921 --> 00:10:31,581 We want to see them move to Charleston 223 00:10:31,581 --> 00:10:35,117 where there's a wealth of nominal Christianity, 224 00:10:35,117 --> 00:10:37,518 and a dearth of biblical Christianity, 225 00:10:37,518 --> 00:10:39,621 and plant a biblical church that will 226 00:10:39,621 --> 00:10:41,721 display the glory of God 227 00:10:41,721 --> 00:10:45,153 as seen in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. 228 00:10:45,153 --> 00:10:46,733 And you might say to yourself, 229 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:48,702 well, how do we weave the excitement 230 00:10:48,702 --> 00:10:51,733 of church planting together 231 00:10:51,733 --> 00:10:55,137 with the grief of death? 232 00:10:55,137 --> 00:10:58,148 We remember this one simple fact: 233 00:10:58,148 --> 00:11:01,844 The reason we can grieve over Lynn with hope 234 00:11:01,844 --> 00:11:04,632 is because of the message these three men 235 00:11:04,632 --> 00:11:06,784 plan to preach in Charleston. 236 00:11:06,784 --> 00:11:09,346 The only reason there is good news 237 00:11:09,346 --> 00:11:12,159 about Lynn is not because Lynn was so good, 238 00:11:12,159 --> 00:11:14,664 but because her Savior is so great. 239 00:11:14,664 --> 00:11:17,108 As good as Lynn was, 240 00:11:17,108 --> 00:11:20,053 she was not good enough to get her way into heaven. 241 00:11:20,053 --> 00:11:21,613 Her goodness was not sufficient 242 00:11:21,613 --> 00:11:23,442 to buy a ticket into heaven. 243 00:11:23,442 --> 00:11:25,746 She was redeemed by a Savior 244 00:11:25,746 --> 00:11:27,221 out of being a sinner. 245 00:11:27,221 --> 00:11:29,013 She was someone who had fallen short 246 00:11:29,013 --> 00:11:30,460 of the glory of God, 247 00:11:30,460 --> 00:11:32,348 but was declared righteous freely 248 00:11:32,348 --> 00:11:33,902 by the grace of Christ. 249 00:11:33,902 --> 00:11:35,649 She was justified by Christ. 250 00:11:35,649 --> 00:11:36,800 And I'll tell you what, 251 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,610 there was no one who would say that 252 00:11:38,610 --> 00:11:40,718 louder and stronger than Lynn. 253 00:11:40,718 --> 00:11:42,853 She would want you to know that any goodness 254 00:11:42,853 --> 00:11:44,598 and any glory in her life 255 00:11:44,598 --> 00:11:47,557 was a direct outflow of the mercy 256 00:11:47,557 --> 00:11:49,455 and the grace and the kindness 257 00:11:49,455 --> 00:11:51,831 towards a wicked sinner like her 258 00:11:51,831 --> 00:11:53,549 in Jesus. 259 00:11:53,549 --> 00:11:56,208 That's the message Brian and Mark and Drew 260 00:11:56,208 --> 00:11:58,886 want to see permeate a church. 261 00:11:58,886 --> 00:12:01,111 It's the message that makes it so that 262 00:12:01,111 --> 00:12:02,973 when you die at 36, 263 00:12:02,973 --> 00:12:06,551 you go instantly to be in the presence of the Lord. 264 00:12:06,551 --> 00:12:08,295 That is the Gospel. 265 00:12:08,295 --> 00:12:11,157 And so we're thinking about church planting this morning 266 00:12:11,157 --> 00:12:15,067 not because it's some other page than grief; 267 00:12:15,067 --> 00:12:17,138 not because we need to move on from grief 268 00:12:17,138 --> 00:12:19,443 and get to the excitement of church planting, 269 00:12:19,443 --> 00:12:22,801 but because the reason we plant churches 270 00:12:22,801 --> 00:12:24,435 is to spread the Gospel 271 00:12:24,435 --> 00:12:27,240 that delivers from death. 272 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,551 And we spread it through local churches. 273 00:12:31,551 --> 00:12:34,226 Beloved, make no doubt about it, 274 00:12:34,226 --> 00:12:36,821 Lynn Shreve was the product 275 00:12:36,821 --> 00:12:41,071 of healthy, local churches. 276 00:12:41,071 --> 00:12:43,512 On Friday night, Lynn's childhood pastor 277 00:12:43,512 --> 00:12:45,883 and my personal friend, Ted Christman 278 00:12:45,883 --> 00:12:47,711 who's been pastoring about as long 279 00:12:47,711 --> 00:12:49,968 as I've been alive, literally; 280 00:12:49,968 --> 00:12:51,844 who was reformed in his theology 281 00:12:51,844 --> 00:12:54,445 before that was cool. 282 00:12:54,445 --> 00:12:57,845 Ted Christman came down to Louisville 283 00:12:57,845 --> 00:12:59,686 to be with the family. 284 00:12:59,686 --> 00:13:01,252 And it's a reminder that Lynn 285 00:13:01,252 --> 00:13:03,551 didn't start having the Gospel preached to her 286 00:13:03,551 --> 00:13:05,954 to save her soul and to cultivate her heart 287 00:13:05,954 --> 00:13:07,994 when she got married here, 288 00:13:07,994 --> 00:13:10,564 but rather, her whole life long 289 00:13:10,564 --> 00:13:12,945 she grew up under faithful instruction 290 00:13:12,945 --> 00:13:14,916 from Dwayne and Ruth 291 00:13:14,916 --> 00:13:16,865 and from her pastor, Ted. 292 00:13:16,865 --> 00:13:19,714 Ted told me this story this week 293 00:13:19,714 --> 00:13:22,592 of when Lynn was having heart surgery 294 00:13:22,592 --> 00:13:24,196 in her late teens. 295 00:13:24,196 --> 00:13:26,495 And he drove to Cleveland to the Mayo Clinic 296 00:13:26,495 --> 00:13:28,664 to be with them through this heart surgery. 297 00:13:28,664 --> 00:13:30,295 And he looked at Lynn and said, 298 00:13:30,295 --> 00:13:32,035 Lynn, how are you feeling? 299 00:13:32,035 --> 00:13:33,582 Are you scared? 300 00:13:33,582 --> 00:13:36,045 And she said (young teenager), 301 00:13:36,045 --> 00:13:47,341 I'm in perfect peace 302 00:13:47,341 --> 00:13:49,353 because if I die, 303 00:13:49,353 --> 00:13:53,166 I go to be with Jesus. 304 00:13:53,166 --> 00:13:55,674 That kind of faith gets cultivated 305 00:13:55,674 --> 00:13:58,185 in a biblical church where the Gospel 306 00:13:58,185 --> 00:14:00,286 is being massaged into your soul 307 00:14:00,286 --> 00:14:02,940 Sunday after Sunday after Sunday 308 00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:05,554 by the Holy Spirit. 309 00:14:05,554 --> 00:14:07,339 The kind of reverence that made 310 00:14:07,339 --> 00:14:09,448 Lynn love biblical womanhood 311 00:14:09,448 --> 00:14:11,478 rather than despise it like so many do 312 00:14:11,478 --> 00:14:12,546 in our generation, 313 00:14:12,546 --> 00:14:14,160 is the kind that comes 314 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:15,930 when you're in a church that teaches 315 00:14:15,930 --> 00:14:17,038 the fear of God; 316 00:14:17,038 --> 00:14:18,635 that teaches the new birth; 317 00:14:18,635 --> 00:14:21,070 that disciples and practices discipline 318 00:14:21,070 --> 00:14:23,045 so that the people of the church 319 00:14:23,045 --> 00:14:25,148 stand in awe of God 320 00:14:25,148 --> 00:14:26,888 and fear the Lord. 321 00:14:26,888 --> 00:14:28,837 It creates the kind of reality, Mark, 322 00:14:28,837 --> 00:14:31,198 that your heart longs for, 323 00:14:31,198 --> 00:14:33,342 to not see nominal Christianity, 324 00:14:33,342 --> 00:14:35,437 but to see real Christianity where people 325 00:14:35,437 --> 00:14:38,201 actually believe the Gospel. 326 00:14:38,201 --> 00:14:40,266 We want to plant churches 327 00:14:40,266 --> 00:14:43,066 because they exalt the Savior. 328 00:14:43,066 --> 00:14:45,627 They produce Lynn Shreve's. 329 00:14:45,627 --> 00:14:48,560 They make godly character 330 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,872 like nothing else does in the universe. 331 00:14:51,872 --> 00:14:55,588 Shallow churches make shallow Christians, 332 00:14:55,588 --> 00:15:01,866 and sometimes they don't even do that. 333 00:15:01,866 --> 00:15:04,238 And so we long to see a healthy church 334 00:15:04,238 --> 00:15:06,946 planted in Charleston, 335 00:15:06,946 --> 00:15:08,517 so that more and more people 336 00:15:08,517 --> 00:15:12,255 can be saved by and formed by 337 00:15:12,255 --> 00:15:16,242 the Lord Jesus Christ. 338 00:15:16,242 --> 00:15:19,060 The first braid I wanted to weave together 339 00:15:19,060 --> 00:15:22,559 was the strand of grief 340 00:15:22,559 --> 00:15:24,642 that we feel from losing 341 00:15:24,642 --> 00:15:27,687 a dear pastor's wife. 342 00:15:27,687 --> 00:15:30,482 The second strand is the strand 343 00:15:30,482 --> 00:15:33,442 of this joy of planting a church 344 00:15:33,442 --> 00:15:37,518 to see more people formed like her. 345 00:15:37,518 --> 00:15:39,905 And the third strand I want to braid together 346 00:15:39,905 --> 00:15:43,078 comes from the strong Word of God. 347 00:15:43,078 --> 00:15:45,181 I want to talk about the Word of God 348 00:15:45,181 --> 00:15:46,847 because it's the strongest strand 349 00:15:46,847 --> 00:15:48,444 in the braid. 350 00:15:48,444 --> 00:15:50,196 It's what binds it all together. 351 00:15:50,196 --> 00:15:52,987 It's what gives the strength 352 00:15:52,987 --> 00:15:55,906 and the power that is required 353 00:15:55,906 --> 00:15:59,068 to save and transform a life 354 00:15:59,068 --> 00:16:01,837 and a church. 355 00:16:01,837 --> 00:16:06,876 In Romans 1:8-15, 356 00:16:06,876 --> 00:16:10,076 we see a picture 357 00:16:10,076 --> 00:16:13,631 of a Gospel-formed heart. 358 00:16:13,631 --> 00:16:17,890 In Romans 1:1-17, 359 00:16:17,890 --> 00:16:19,689 the Apostle Paul is speaking 360 00:16:19,689 --> 00:16:20,991 to these Roman Christians 361 00:16:20,991 --> 00:16:22,899 and he's basically saying one thing: 362 00:16:22,899 --> 00:16:25,465 I want to tell you the Gospel. 363 00:16:25,465 --> 00:16:27,885 And you can trust me. 364 00:16:27,885 --> 00:16:29,648 He hadn't met these Romans. 365 00:16:29,648 --> 00:16:31,997 They hadn't seen the tears fall from his eyes. 366 00:16:31,997 --> 00:16:33,526 They hadn't seen his chin quiver 367 00:16:33,526 --> 00:16:34,629 when he was with them. 368 00:16:34,629 --> 00:16:36,910 They didn't know him. He was a stranger to them. 369 00:16:36,910 --> 00:16:39,592 And we all know what it's like when we meet a stranger. 370 00:16:39,592 --> 00:16:43,037 We don't instinctively trust strangers. 371 00:16:43,037 --> 00:16:45,150 And Paul was a stranger to these Romans 372 00:16:45,150 --> 00:16:48,105 and so in Romans 1:1-7 he says 373 00:16:48,105 --> 00:16:50,061 I have real authority. 374 00:16:50,061 --> 00:16:52,575 I'm coming to you from God. 375 00:16:52,575 --> 00:16:55,304 You can trust me. 376 00:16:55,304 --> 00:17:00,672 But then in Romans 1:8-15 he says, 377 00:17:00,672 --> 00:17:02,676 you should listen to me. 378 00:17:02,676 --> 00:17:04,735 I'm coming to you from God. 379 00:17:04,735 --> 00:17:06,612 I love you. 380 00:17:06,612 --> 00:17:09,382 He shows us a Gospel heart. 381 00:17:09,382 --> 00:17:12,066 He shows us the kind of heart that ministers the Gospel. 382 00:17:12,066 --> 00:17:13,800 Make no mistake about it, beloved. 383 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,718 The Gospel is not effective just when it comes as a 384 00:17:16,718 --> 00:17:18,614 perfectly positioned worldview 385 00:17:18,614 --> 00:17:20,440 or as a foolproof argument 386 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:24,159 or as a gloriously coherent set of doctrines. 387 00:17:24,159 --> 00:17:27,051 The Gospel wins men and women 388 00:17:27,051 --> 00:17:30,755 as it comes through transformed hearts 389 00:17:30,755 --> 00:17:32,959 in men and women. 390 00:17:32,959 --> 00:17:35,592 And Paul here shows us a picture 391 00:17:35,592 --> 00:17:37,171 of a transformed heart - 392 00:17:37,171 --> 00:17:39,286 the kind of heart that is the chariot 393 00:17:39,286 --> 00:17:40,841 that the Gospel wants to ride 394 00:17:40,841 --> 00:17:43,976 into people's lives on. 395 00:17:43,976 --> 00:17:47,416 The Apostle Paul is showing us his heart 396 00:17:47,416 --> 00:17:49,440 to say you can trust me. 397 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,591 All this glorious Gospel doctrine 398 00:17:51,591 --> 00:17:53,027 I'm going to unfold for you - 399 00:17:53,027 --> 00:17:54,186 you can believe it. 400 00:17:54,186 --> 00:17:55,004 I love you. 401 00:17:55,004 --> 00:17:56,750 I've been transformed by it myself. 402 00:17:56,750 --> 00:17:58,585 You can trust me. 403 00:17:58,585 --> 00:18:00,467 And I would say as we think about 404 00:18:00,467 --> 00:18:05,419 the challenges of caring for the Shreve family, 405 00:18:05,419 --> 00:18:08,174 and all the many families who will have needs 406 00:18:08,174 --> 00:18:11,040 in the coming years, 407 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,915 we will need to be a people 408 00:18:12,915 --> 00:18:17,081 with Gospel-shaped hearts. 409 00:18:17,081 --> 00:18:20,043 And to Mark and Brian and Drew, 410 00:18:20,043 --> 00:18:24,399 ministry is a matter of the heart. 411 00:18:24,399 --> 00:18:29,653 It's a matter of having a Gospel-shaped heart. 412 00:18:29,653 --> 00:18:31,178 Martyn Lloyd-Jones said 413 00:18:31,178 --> 00:18:33,633 I can forgive a man almost anything 414 00:18:33,633 --> 00:18:36,187 in preaching, 415 00:18:36,187 --> 00:18:40,015 so long as he gives me a sense of God. 416 00:18:40,015 --> 00:18:44,350 That sense of God comes from God on the heart - 417 00:18:44,350 --> 00:18:49,645 the Gospel touching the heart. 418 00:18:49,645 --> 00:18:52,768 And in Paul, we see four characteristics 419 00:18:52,768 --> 00:18:55,846 of this Gospel heart. 420 00:18:55,846 --> 00:18:59,257 It's a thankful heart. 421 00:18:59,257 --> 00:19:02,309 It's a prayerful heart. 422 00:19:02,309 --> 00:19:05,501 It's an encouraging heart. 423 00:19:05,501 --> 00:19:09,231 And it is an obligated heart. 424 00:19:09,231 --> 00:19:11,471 You see there in v. 8 425 00:19:11,471 --> 00:19:13,721 that a Gospel-formed heart 426 00:19:13,721 --> 00:19:17,007 is a thankful heart. 427 00:19:17,007 --> 00:19:21,595 First, Paul says, 428 00:19:21,595 --> 00:19:23,620 I thank my God. 429 00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:24,693 First, I thank Him. 430 00:19:24,693 --> 00:19:26,385 Here's where I want to start. 431 00:19:26,385 --> 00:19:27,915 I thank my God 432 00:19:27,915 --> 00:19:29,771 through Jesus Christ 433 00:19:29,771 --> 00:19:31,322 for all of you, 434 00:19:31,322 --> 00:19:33,523 because your faith is proclaimed 435 00:19:33,523 --> 00:19:35,532 in all the world. 436 00:19:35,532 --> 00:19:40,113 Paul begins with thanksgiving. 437 00:19:40,113 --> 00:19:42,035 And he begins with thanksgiving, 438 00:19:42,035 --> 00:19:44,724 not just here in the book of Romans, 439 00:19:44,724 --> 00:19:47,133 but repeatedly, 440 00:19:47,133 --> 00:19:48,842 it's one of the defining marks 441 00:19:48,842 --> 00:19:50,744 of the letters in which Paul 442 00:19:50,744 --> 00:19:53,604 is the author is he begins with thanksgiving. 443 00:19:53,604 --> 00:19:57,048 So in 1 Corinthians 1:14, 444 00:19:57,048 --> 00:19:59,916 he speaks to one of the most messed up churches 445 00:19:59,916 --> 00:20:03,106 in the entire New Testament. 446 00:20:03,106 --> 00:20:05,940 Many of us wouldn't go pastor the Corinthians, 447 00:20:05,940 --> 00:20:07,637 if we were offered a job 448 00:20:07,637 --> 00:20:09,624 to be their pastor. 449 00:20:09,624 --> 00:20:10,941 And Paul says, 450 00:20:10,941 --> 00:20:13,276 "I give thanks to my God always 451 00:20:13,276 --> 00:20:16,283 for you because of the grace of God 452 00:20:16,283 --> 00:20:19,020 that was given you in Christ Jesus." 453 00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:21,389 And then he says in Ephesians 1:16, 454 00:20:21,389 --> 00:20:23,785 "I do not cease to give thanks for you." 455 00:20:23,785 --> 00:20:25,031 Even though the Ephesians 456 00:20:25,031 --> 00:20:26,557 needed to be told not to steal, 457 00:20:26,557 --> 00:20:27,626 not to lie, 458 00:20:27,626 --> 00:20:29,064 not to be so malicious, 459 00:20:29,064 --> 00:20:30,372 not to be so mean. 460 00:20:30,372 --> 00:20:31,447 He says to them, 461 00:20:31,447 --> 00:20:33,558 I do not cease to give thanks for you 462 00:20:33,558 --> 00:20:37,879 remembering you in my prayers. 463 00:20:37,879 --> 00:20:42,589 Paul had a thankful heart. 464 00:20:42,589 --> 00:20:45,056 And a thankful heart - 465 00:20:45,056 --> 00:20:48,226 it's a rare heart, isn't it? 466 00:20:48,226 --> 00:20:50,361 I don't know why we always tell stories 467 00:20:50,361 --> 00:20:52,506 like kids are these little angels. 468 00:20:52,506 --> 00:20:58,347 I've had four. I didn't get an angel. 469 00:20:58,347 --> 00:21:00,635 You feed these kids three times a day, 470 00:21:00,635 --> 00:21:01,866 seven days a week, 471 00:21:01,866 --> 00:21:03,126 with snacks you could be 472 00:21:03,126 --> 00:21:04,732 getting close to 40 meals a week. 473 00:21:04,732 --> 00:21:07,383 You're just constantly feeding them. 474 00:21:07,383 --> 00:21:09,221 You put them in a high chair 475 00:21:09,221 --> 00:21:10,213 when they're young 476 00:21:10,213 --> 00:21:11,517 and the first thing they do 477 00:21:11,517 --> 00:21:13,888 is they scream in desperation 478 00:21:13,888 --> 00:21:17,941 like they will never be fed again. 479 00:21:17,941 --> 00:21:18,905 Rather than, 480 00:21:18,905 --> 00:21:20,366 let me buckle you in. 481 00:21:20,366 --> 00:21:22,436 Thank you. 482 00:21:22,436 --> 00:21:24,172 This is a clear indication 483 00:21:24,172 --> 00:21:28,214 I'm about to be fed yet again. 484 00:21:28,214 --> 00:21:29,743 But it doesn't work like that. 485 00:21:29,743 --> 00:21:31,219 There's this desperation; 486 00:21:31,219 --> 00:21:32,186 this clamor. 487 00:21:32,186 --> 00:21:33,773 That I'm not going to get enough. 488 00:21:33,773 --> 00:21:35,220 It's not going to be enough. 489 00:21:35,220 --> 00:21:36,785 There's this thanklessness 490 00:21:36,785 --> 00:21:39,817 that goes deep into the human heart. 491 00:21:39,817 --> 00:21:41,275 We've watched the tragedy 492 00:21:41,275 --> 00:21:44,561 of one more example of Donald Trump's lechery - 493 00:21:44,561 --> 00:21:47,931 his wicked, vile attitude towards women 494 00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:49,691 that's been exposed one more time; 495 00:21:49,691 --> 00:21:53,474 his deep bent towards sexual immorality. 496 00:21:53,474 --> 00:21:54,722 You say why is that? 497 00:21:54,722 --> 00:21:57,265 Why this bent toward sexual immorality? 498 00:21:57,265 --> 00:22:01,248 I'll tell you, it's the lack of a thankful heart. 499 00:22:01,248 --> 00:22:03,311 Paul tells us in Romans 1 500 00:22:03,311 --> 00:22:05,471 that men did not glorify God, 501 00:22:05,471 --> 00:22:09,735 neither did they give Him thanks, 502 00:22:09,735 --> 00:22:12,000 therefore He handed them over 503 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,623 to perversion. 504 00:22:13,623 --> 00:22:15,455 When your heart's not thankful 505 00:22:15,455 --> 00:22:16,806 for what God gives, 506 00:22:16,806 --> 00:22:20,614 it's grasping for what He doesn't give. 507 00:22:20,614 --> 00:22:23,979 And of course, it's not just Donald Trump's problem, 508 00:22:23,979 --> 00:22:26,210 there's a reason that millions of Americans 509 00:22:26,210 --> 00:22:28,408 bought 50 Shades of Grey. 510 00:22:28,408 --> 00:22:30,450 And anyone who thinks that Donald Trump 511 00:22:30,450 --> 00:22:32,172 is so vile needs to ask themselves 512 00:22:32,172 --> 00:22:34,638 if they've ever looked at pornography, 513 00:22:34,638 --> 00:22:37,662 because it's the exact same desire - 514 00:22:37,662 --> 00:22:39,726 to have what you want when you want it 515 00:22:39,726 --> 00:22:42,704 the way you want it now; 516 00:22:42,704 --> 00:22:46,216 without any contentment. 517 00:22:46,216 --> 00:22:49,043 But here in this thankless world, 518 00:22:49,043 --> 00:22:53,934 Paul is thankful. 519 00:22:53,934 --> 00:22:55,400 And of all things, 520 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,433 for imperfect churches. 521 00:22:58,433 --> 00:23:00,357 He didn't get a beach property 522 00:23:00,357 --> 00:23:01,725 on the Mediterranean. 523 00:23:01,725 --> 00:23:03,382 I'm thankful! 524 00:23:03,382 --> 00:23:05,981 He got churches and lots of them 525 00:23:05,981 --> 00:23:08,389 with problems. 526 00:23:08,389 --> 00:23:10,458 And he says, I just want to say, 527 00:23:10,458 --> 00:23:12,133 thank You! 528 00:23:12,133 --> 00:23:13,896 And what he does is he says 529 00:23:13,896 --> 00:23:16,819 I thank my God through Jesus Christ. 530 00:23:16,819 --> 00:23:18,445 He doesn't say I thank you Romans, 531 00:23:18,445 --> 00:23:21,493 you're a cut above the rest of the people in the ancient world. 532 00:23:21,493 --> 00:23:22,751 No, he thanks God, 533 00:23:22,751 --> 00:23:24,383 because Paul has recognized 534 00:23:24,383 --> 00:23:27,740 that everything required to save someone 535 00:23:27,740 --> 00:23:29,256 and make them a Christian 536 00:23:29,256 --> 00:23:31,268 comes from God. 537 00:23:31,268 --> 00:23:32,715 God chose them. 538 00:23:32,715 --> 00:23:34,938 God sent His Son to die for them. 539 00:23:34,938 --> 00:23:37,438 God sends His Spirit to keep them. 540 00:23:37,438 --> 00:23:39,836 God is the One Who gives His Word 541 00:23:39,836 --> 00:23:40,868 to guide them. 542 00:23:40,868 --> 00:23:43,435 And so God gets all the glory. 543 00:23:43,435 --> 00:23:45,342 Paul is amazed by these Romans 544 00:23:45,342 --> 00:23:47,874 because their faith is being spoken of 545 00:23:47,874 --> 00:23:50,082 through the whole world. 546 00:23:50,082 --> 00:23:52,200 But it's not to their credit, 547 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,169 it's to God's glory. 548 00:23:54,169 --> 00:23:57,460 Do you see the God-centeredness of Paul 549 00:23:57,460 --> 00:24:00,557 and the God-centeredness of thankfulness? 550 00:24:00,557 --> 00:24:03,385 Paul is thankful to God 551 00:24:03,385 --> 00:24:05,140 because of what He's created 552 00:24:05,140 --> 00:24:09,984 in these Roman Christians. 553 00:24:09,984 --> 00:24:13,042 And I want to suggest to you, beloved, 554 00:24:13,042 --> 00:24:16,479 that we should be a thankful people 555 00:24:16,479 --> 00:24:19,197 this morning. 556 00:24:19,197 --> 00:24:21,538 We would have loved to have had Lynn 557 00:24:21,538 --> 00:24:25,246 for 76 years, 558 00:24:25,246 --> 00:24:28,957 or 86 years. 559 00:24:28,957 --> 00:24:33,250 But let us not be ungrateful for 36. 560 00:24:33,250 --> 00:24:34,972 Oh, she lived a better 36 561 00:24:34,972 --> 00:24:37,389 than many live of 50. 562 00:24:37,389 --> 00:24:39,173 She lived well. 563 00:24:39,173 --> 00:24:40,941 She will undoubtedly hear, 564 00:24:40,941 --> 00:24:43,814 "Well done, My good and faithful servant." 565 00:24:43,814 --> 00:24:49,480 She undoubtedly made her calling and election sure. 566 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:51,865 And so though we would want more, 567 00:24:51,865 --> 00:24:55,104 and it's right to want more of a good thing, 568 00:24:55,104 --> 00:24:58,956 let us not refuse God our thanksgiving 569 00:24:58,956 --> 00:25:01,852 for the goodness of what He has given. 570 00:25:01,852 --> 00:25:04,137 None of us are promised 20 years 571 00:25:04,137 --> 00:25:06,882 or 30 years or 40 years, 572 00:25:06,882 --> 00:25:08,650 but each of us can thank God 573 00:25:08,650 --> 00:25:10,763 for every day we're given 574 00:25:10,763 --> 00:25:15,182 and every bright light of glory we see. 575 00:25:15,182 --> 00:25:18,510 And to Mark and Drew and Brian, 576 00:25:18,510 --> 00:25:21,306 do not underestimate the power 577 00:25:21,306 --> 00:25:24,797 of thankfulness to sustain you. 578 00:25:24,797 --> 00:25:28,611 I love pastoring. 579 00:25:28,611 --> 00:25:34,214 And pastoring is brutal. 580 00:25:34,214 --> 00:25:38,499 There's all these people involved. 581 00:25:38,499 --> 00:25:41,358 And they keep sinning. 582 00:25:41,358 --> 00:25:44,273 And they keep suffering. 583 00:25:44,273 --> 00:25:46,081 And you keep sinning. 584 00:25:46,081 --> 00:25:47,886 And I keep suffering. 585 00:25:47,886 --> 00:25:50,328 And Sunday keeps coming. 586 00:25:50,328 --> 00:25:52,792 And it will kill, wear down 587 00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:54,825 the strongest of men. 588 00:25:54,825 --> 00:25:56,642 And then when a church goes through 589 00:25:56,642 --> 00:25:58,394 a Corinthian season, 590 00:25:58,394 --> 00:26:02,175 one can feel they could never make it another step. 591 00:26:02,175 --> 00:26:04,742 But at time, you need to look at yourself and say, 592 00:26:04,742 --> 00:26:08,800 I'm not in hell. I'm a pastor! 593 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,740 I should be the person they're sharing the Gospel with. 594 00:26:13,740 --> 00:26:16,886 I should be the person the people are trying to rescue 595 00:26:16,886 --> 00:26:18,378 from the pit of hell. 596 00:26:18,378 --> 00:26:21,581 But instead, I have believed the Gospel. 597 00:26:21,581 --> 00:26:23,162 I've trusted Christ. 598 00:26:23,162 --> 00:26:24,374 I'm saved, 599 00:26:24,374 --> 00:26:26,172 and of all the things in the world, 600 00:26:26,172 --> 00:26:28,168 I've been given responsibility 601 00:26:28,168 --> 00:26:30,438 over a people who have the Spirit 602 00:26:30,438 --> 00:26:32,632 and who are showing the firstfruits 603 00:26:32,632 --> 00:26:35,475 of every sign that they're going to heaven. 604 00:26:35,475 --> 00:26:38,000 On the best days, this is great. 605 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,363 And on the worst days, 606 00:26:39,363 --> 00:26:41,271 this is still glorious. 607 00:26:41,271 --> 00:26:44,412 It's something to be thankful for. 608 00:26:44,412 --> 00:26:49,100 It will sustain you to thank God 609 00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:51,833 for the beautiful difficulties 610 00:26:51,833 --> 00:26:54,599 of being a pastor. 611 00:26:54,599 --> 00:26:55,755 Not only does the Gospel 612 00:26:55,755 --> 00:26:58,258 make a thankful heart, 613 00:26:58,258 --> 00:27:02,057 but it makes a prayerful heart. 614 00:27:02,057 --> 00:27:06,190 It makes a prayerful heart. 615 00:27:06,190 --> 00:27:12,104 V. 9 "For God is my witness, 616 00:27:12,104 --> 00:27:18,476 Whom I serve with my spirit, 617 00:27:18,476 --> 00:27:21,978 in the Gospel of His Son, 618 00:27:21,978 --> 00:27:24,607 that without ceasing 619 00:27:24,607 --> 00:27:27,718 I mention you always in my prayers, 620 00:27:27,718 --> 00:27:32,257 asking that somehow 621 00:27:32,257 --> 00:27:37,467 by God's will I may now at last 622 00:27:37,467 --> 00:27:42,661 succeed in coming to you." 623 00:27:42,661 --> 00:27:46,359 A Gospel heart makes a prayerful heart. 624 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:48,194 Do you notice this? 625 00:27:48,194 --> 00:27:53,230 Paul is a praying man. 626 00:27:53,230 --> 00:27:56,168 And the number one Person 627 00:27:56,168 --> 00:28:00,251 Who knows that Paul is a praying man 628 00:28:00,251 --> 00:28:03,140 is God. 629 00:28:03,140 --> 00:28:07,069 God is the primary witness 630 00:28:07,069 --> 00:28:11,196 of Paul's prayer life. 631 00:28:11,196 --> 00:28:13,298 This is an important word for a church 632 00:28:13,298 --> 00:28:14,740 that values corporate prayer 633 00:28:14,740 --> 00:28:18,074 as much as we do. 634 00:28:18,074 --> 00:28:19,931 The Lord Jesus warned us 635 00:28:19,931 --> 00:28:22,946 not to be like the Pharisees, 636 00:28:22,946 --> 00:28:25,029 and to emphasize the effects 637 00:28:25,029 --> 00:28:28,581 of what praying in front of others will do. 638 00:28:28,581 --> 00:28:30,376 It'll get you a reward. 639 00:28:30,376 --> 00:28:32,900 You'll look spiritual. 640 00:28:32,900 --> 00:28:34,142 You'll look holy. 641 00:28:34,142 --> 00:28:36,243 You're not getting drunk and smoking crack. 642 00:28:36,243 --> 00:28:37,823 You're going to prayer meetings. 643 00:28:37,823 --> 00:28:41,329 This is incredible. 644 00:28:41,329 --> 00:28:43,295 But the primary eyes 645 00:28:43,295 --> 00:28:46,396 that we should be concerned about - 646 00:28:46,396 --> 00:28:49,469 in prayer meetings and in the prayer closet - 647 00:28:49,469 --> 00:28:51,878 are the eyes of God. 648 00:28:51,878 --> 00:28:54,191 Let me ask you this. 649 00:28:54,191 --> 00:29:00,004 Does God know you to be a praying man? 650 00:29:00,004 --> 00:29:04,085 Does God know you to be a woman of prayer? 651 00:29:04,085 --> 00:29:06,415 What's His witness to you? 652 00:29:06,415 --> 00:29:08,454 You say, well, I've got to build a career, 653 00:29:08,454 --> 00:29:09,800 I've got to build a home, 654 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:11,003 I've got to provide. 655 00:29:11,003 --> 00:29:16,559 Yes, you do - not at the expense of prayer. 656 00:29:16,559 --> 00:29:17,953 Hudson Taylor said, 657 00:29:17,953 --> 00:29:19,975 do not be so busy 658 00:29:19,975 --> 00:29:23,991 that you cannot work hard in prayer, 659 00:29:23,991 --> 00:29:28,561 for prayer is hard work. 660 00:29:28,561 --> 00:29:32,058 The first place we are to serve God 661 00:29:32,058 --> 00:29:34,199 is in our spirits. 662 00:29:34,199 --> 00:29:35,730 Do you see that there? 663 00:29:35,730 --> 00:29:38,712 Paul says, "For God is my witness Whom I serve with my spirit." 664 00:29:38,712 --> 00:29:40,711 He's not just serving God with his hands; 665 00:29:40,711 --> 00:29:43,281 not just serving God with his travels and his feet, 666 00:29:43,281 --> 00:29:45,414 but in his spirit, in the inner man, 667 00:29:45,414 --> 00:29:46,733 he communes with God. 668 00:29:46,733 --> 00:29:48,029 He pleads to God. 669 00:29:48,029 --> 00:29:49,960 He asks God for those things 670 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:51,937 which concern the advance of His kingdom. 671 00:29:51,937 --> 00:29:54,005 The main place he serves God 672 00:29:54,005 --> 00:29:55,673 is where no one can see, 673 00:29:55,673 --> 00:29:59,882 but God can witness. 674 00:29:59,882 --> 00:30:03,876 And he says that he does it 675 00:30:03,876 --> 00:30:05,607 in the Gospel of His Son. 676 00:30:05,607 --> 00:30:06,973 This is so important, 677 00:30:06,973 --> 00:30:09,013 because when you get alone in that closet 678 00:30:09,013 --> 00:30:13,092 and it's just you - your spirit and God, 679 00:30:13,092 --> 00:30:16,300 it becomes a very miserable place, doesn't it? 680 00:30:16,300 --> 00:30:18,188 Because the devil will remind you 681 00:30:18,188 --> 00:30:19,971 of every sin you ever committed 682 00:30:19,971 --> 00:30:21,732 when you weren't in that closet. 683 00:30:21,732 --> 00:30:23,455 He will remind you of everything 684 00:30:23,455 --> 00:30:24,887 you've left undone, 685 00:30:24,887 --> 00:30:26,617 and he will remind you of everything 686 00:30:26,617 --> 00:30:28,111 you've poorly done. 687 00:30:28,111 --> 00:30:30,167 He'll remind you of the sins of your youth. 688 00:30:30,167 --> 00:30:32,478 He'll remind you of the sins you're tempted of. 689 00:30:32,478 --> 00:30:34,511 He will do everything to crush 690 00:30:34,511 --> 00:30:37,078 your ministry in your spirit. 691 00:30:37,078 --> 00:30:38,577 But listen to me, 692 00:30:38,577 --> 00:30:40,284 you are one who ministers 693 00:30:40,284 --> 00:30:42,553 in the Gospel of His Son. 694 00:30:42,553 --> 00:30:44,757 That is, that you minister in the reality 695 00:30:44,757 --> 00:30:47,275 that Jesus Christ has given good news 696 00:30:47,275 --> 00:30:48,832 for a soul like yours. 697 00:30:48,832 --> 00:30:51,169 He has taken away the sins of your youth. 698 00:30:51,169 --> 00:30:53,517 He will protect you from the sins of old age. 699 00:30:53,517 --> 00:30:55,742 He wipes away all your record 700 00:30:55,742 --> 00:30:57,417 of ever having done wrong. 701 00:30:57,417 --> 00:30:59,035 And when the devil comes to you 702 00:30:59,035 --> 00:31:00,590 and says you are so wicked; 703 00:31:00,590 --> 00:31:01,774 you are so fleshly; 704 00:31:01,774 --> 00:31:03,495 you are so prayerless; 705 00:31:03,495 --> 00:31:06,576 you are so undeserving to come before God, 706 00:31:06,576 --> 00:31:08,243 you answer with Martin Luther: 707 00:31:08,243 --> 00:31:11,205 That's exactly right! 708 00:31:11,205 --> 00:31:15,079 And I come to You in the Gospel of Your Son 709 00:31:15,079 --> 00:31:16,423 Who is good enough, 710 00:31:16,423 --> 00:31:17,434 spiritual enough, 711 00:31:17,434 --> 00:31:18,448 right enough, 712 00:31:18,448 --> 00:31:19,360 loving enough, 713 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:20,637 sacrificial enough, 714 00:31:20,637 --> 00:31:22,020 and Who is holy enough 715 00:31:22,020 --> 00:31:24,430 to plead my cause before You. 716 00:31:24,430 --> 00:31:25,891 I'm not coming to tell You 717 00:31:25,891 --> 00:31:27,692 what a good prayer warrior I am. 718 00:31:27,692 --> 00:31:29,689 I'm coming to pronounce to You, Lord, 719 00:31:29,689 --> 00:31:32,005 that I come in the name of Your Son. 720 00:31:32,005 --> 00:31:35,582 You can do spiritual ministry in the name of the Son. 721 00:31:35,582 --> 00:31:38,170 And don't let any devil tell you any lie 722 00:31:38,170 --> 00:31:41,160 that says you cannot. 723 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,690 The ministry we are called to 724 00:31:42,690 --> 00:31:46,195 is a ministry of the Spirit; 725 00:31:46,195 --> 00:31:50,521 a ministry of prayer. 726 00:31:50,521 --> 00:31:56,472 Notice, Brian and Drew and Mark, 727 00:31:56,472 --> 00:32:01,903 the implied difficulty in our lives 728 00:32:01,903 --> 00:32:04,801 of prayer in this verse. 729 00:32:04,801 --> 00:32:06,730 Notice the implied difficulty. 730 00:32:06,730 --> 00:32:09,142 This is actually helpful for everyone. 731 00:32:09,142 --> 00:32:10,755 Notice what it says here. 732 00:32:10,755 --> 00:32:12,827 "Always in my prayers (v. 10) 733 00:32:12,827 --> 00:32:15,693 asking that somehow by God's will, 734 00:32:15,693 --> 00:32:17,624 I may now at last, 735 00:32:17,624 --> 00:32:19,276 succeed in coming to you." 736 00:32:19,276 --> 00:32:24,046 Do you see that there's been a lack of success? 737 00:32:24,046 --> 00:32:27,768 He hasn't gotten what he wanted yet. 738 00:32:27,768 --> 00:32:30,491 I'm hoping that now at last... 739 00:32:30,491 --> 00:32:32,249 These things I've been praying for, 740 00:32:32,249 --> 00:32:34,213 I want them to happen eventually. 741 00:32:34,213 --> 00:32:35,807 He actually speaks more to this 742 00:32:35,807 --> 00:32:37,870 in v. 13 when he says, 743 00:32:37,870 --> 00:32:40,191 "I have often intended to come to you, 744 00:32:40,191 --> 00:32:42,321 but thus far have been prevented." 745 00:32:42,321 --> 00:32:43,578 So, prayer meeting - 746 00:32:43,578 --> 00:32:44,890 "Lord, can I go to Rome?" 747 00:32:44,890 --> 00:32:47,234 Yes. No, travel plans broke down. 748 00:32:47,234 --> 00:32:48,425 Lord, can I go to Rome? 749 00:32:48,425 --> 00:32:50,623 No, didn't work out. Had to go to Corinth. 750 00:32:50,623 --> 00:32:51,721 Lord, can I go? No. 751 00:32:51,721 --> 00:32:54,154 It's just everything is getting in the way 752 00:32:54,154 --> 00:32:56,972 of this opportunity. 753 00:32:56,972 --> 00:32:58,791 And here's the apostle to the Gentiles 754 00:32:58,791 --> 00:33:00,416 who wants the whole planet 755 00:33:00,416 --> 00:33:01,613 to know Jesus. 756 00:33:01,613 --> 00:33:03,707 Where does he want to go? 757 00:33:03,707 --> 00:33:06,205 The capital city of the world. 758 00:33:06,205 --> 00:33:09,320 He wants to to there and strengthen that church. 759 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:10,723 But he can't get there. 760 00:33:10,723 --> 00:33:13,020 "Well, he should be praying." He is praying! 761 00:33:13,020 --> 00:33:14,266 He should be praying more. 762 00:33:14,266 --> 00:33:16,682 He's praying constantly. 763 00:33:16,682 --> 00:33:18,634 And even though he's praying continually 764 00:33:18,634 --> 00:33:19,881 and constantly, 765 00:33:19,881 --> 00:33:24,884 God is not granting success to his prayers. 766 00:33:24,884 --> 00:33:27,127 God is holding him back 767 00:33:27,127 --> 00:33:29,359 from answered prayer. 768 00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:31,030 And I want to tell you something. 769 00:33:31,030 --> 00:33:33,172 The whole Christian life 770 00:33:33,172 --> 00:33:36,379 is a beautiful and painful mixture 771 00:33:36,379 --> 00:33:38,954 of glorious answered prayers 772 00:33:38,954 --> 00:33:41,078 walking right beside 773 00:33:41,078 --> 00:33:43,978 glorious unanswered prayers. 774 00:33:43,978 --> 00:33:46,542 This church we wanted to plant in Charleston, 775 00:33:46,542 --> 00:33:48,419 we wanted to get there in a little while; 776 00:33:48,419 --> 00:33:50,454 we didn't want to send these guys out this fast. 777 00:33:50,454 --> 00:33:52,349 But the reason we're sending them out this fast, 778 00:33:52,349 --> 00:33:54,651 is because we prayed that God would open up a door, 779 00:33:54,651 --> 00:33:56,894 and He moved an older church in Charleston 780 00:33:56,894 --> 00:34:00,083 to do something older churches do not do, 781 00:34:00,083 --> 00:34:03,273 and say, yes, we will receive these three young leaders 782 00:34:03,273 --> 00:34:09,337 and we'd like to give you our building. 783 00:34:09,337 --> 00:34:11,079 Which means that there's been 784 00:34:11,079 --> 00:34:14,729 a glorious answer to prayer. 785 00:34:14,729 --> 00:34:16,937 But it doesn't mean that every prayer 786 00:34:16,937 --> 00:34:18,803 that's ever been prayed for that church 787 00:34:18,803 --> 00:34:21,699 is answered overnight. 788 00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:23,450 We want to see people saved. 789 00:34:23,450 --> 00:34:25,004 We want to see people saved 790 00:34:25,004 --> 00:34:27,319 rich, poor, black, white, all different people 791 00:34:27,319 --> 00:34:30,581 and that will take years of prayer. 792 00:34:30,581 --> 00:34:33,323 But don't quit praying 793 00:34:33,323 --> 00:34:35,932 just because you seem to constantly 794 00:34:35,932 --> 00:34:39,061 come across being prevented 795 00:34:39,061 --> 00:34:41,980 from the answers to your prayers. 796 00:34:41,980 --> 00:34:43,921 There's an amazing illustration of this 797 00:34:43,921 --> 00:34:45,099 in many of your Bibles. 798 00:34:45,099 --> 00:34:51,825 In my Bible, Romans starts on this side of the page. 799 00:34:51,825 --> 00:34:53,211 And on this side of the page 800 00:34:53,211 --> 00:34:55,145 is the last chapter of Acts. 801 00:34:55,145 --> 00:34:56,785 Maybe some of you have to turn 802 00:34:56,785 --> 00:35:00,005 one page back to get from Romans to Acts. 803 00:35:00,005 --> 00:35:01,700 The reason this is interesting 804 00:35:01,700 --> 00:35:03,672 is because of what happens 805 00:35:03,672 --> 00:35:06,463 in the last chapter of Acts. 806 00:35:06,463 --> 00:35:09,951 You know what happens in the last chapter of Acts? 807 00:35:09,951 --> 00:35:15,093 Paul gets to Rome. 808 00:35:15,093 --> 00:35:17,909 A prisoner. 809 00:35:17,909 --> 00:35:20,411 In shackles. 810 00:35:20,411 --> 00:35:22,504 He gets an escort 811 00:35:22,504 --> 00:35:26,128 from the government to Rome. 812 00:35:26,128 --> 00:35:28,153 And then they put him in a house 813 00:35:28,153 --> 00:35:29,262 under house arrest 814 00:35:29,262 --> 00:35:30,892 where he spends all kinds of time 815 00:35:30,892 --> 00:35:33,974 preaching the Gospel. 816 00:35:33,974 --> 00:35:36,262 This is probably not the answer to prayer 817 00:35:36,262 --> 00:35:38,212 Paul had in mind. 818 00:35:38,212 --> 00:35:39,975 Just maybe a nice cruise ship. 819 00:35:39,975 --> 00:35:41,895 A little walk around the Mediterranean. 820 00:35:41,895 --> 00:35:44,216 Get up to Rome. Preach the Gospel. 821 00:35:44,216 --> 00:35:46,633 Instead, God has Paul arrested 822 00:35:46,633 --> 00:35:47,810 in Jerusalem, 823 00:35:47,810 --> 00:35:49,776 and escorted as a prisoner 824 00:35:49,776 --> 00:35:50,999 all the way to Rome 825 00:35:50,999 --> 00:35:52,501 so that he can bear witness 826 00:35:52,501 --> 00:35:53,493 to Caesar. 827 00:35:53,493 --> 00:35:56,152 Listen, beloved, God answers our prayers 828 00:35:56,152 --> 00:35:58,146 exceedingly, abundantly, 829 00:35:58,146 --> 00:36:01,153 beyond all we ask or imagine, 830 00:36:01,153 --> 00:36:02,783 but he also answers them 831 00:36:02,783 --> 00:36:05,972 often much more painfully 832 00:36:05,972 --> 00:36:13,483 and brutally than we ever dared to dream. 833 00:36:13,483 --> 00:36:21,158 This is a good reminder for the Shreve's. 834 00:36:21,158 --> 00:36:24,188 Haven't you prayed, Jay, 835 00:36:24,188 --> 00:36:27,655 that your children would know the Lord? 836 00:36:27,655 --> 00:36:30,313 That your family would be a light 837 00:36:30,313 --> 00:36:32,254 And a beacon of truth? 838 00:36:32,254 --> 00:36:34,452 And we just instinctively - we all do this, 839 00:36:34,452 --> 00:36:39,467 we think that will involve us being there 840 00:36:39,467 --> 00:36:41,956 for the answers to those prayers. 841 00:36:41,956 --> 00:36:44,221 And we tend to think that we are necessary 842 00:36:44,221 --> 00:36:46,519 to the circumstances 843 00:36:46,519 --> 00:36:49,985 of God answering our prayers. 844 00:36:49,985 --> 00:36:53,388 But God is not constrained by our sense 845 00:36:53,388 --> 00:36:55,245 of what the right circumstances 846 00:36:55,245 --> 00:37:00,415 for answers prayers are to be. 847 00:37:00,415 --> 00:37:05,471 My wife had a mother who loved the Lord. 848 00:37:05,471 --> 00:37:07,792 She was married to a pastor, 849 00:37:07,792 --> 00:37:09,677 three kids, and undoubtedly she prayed 850 00:37:09,677 --> 00:37:11,782 that my wife Christie would know the Lord 851 00:37:11,782 --> 00:37:14,264 and serve the Lord. 852 00:37:14,264 --> 00:37:16,127 But when Christy was five years old, 853 00:37:16,127 --> 00:37:19,815 God took Christy's mom by a drunk driver. 854 00:37:19,815 --> 00:37:22,044 I'm sure that as Lois (Christie's mom) prayed, 855 00:37:22,044 --> 00:37:25,167 she imagined herself there at the graduation; 856 00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:26,739 herself there at the wedding; 857 00:37:26,739 --> 00:37:28,816 herself there as part of how God 858 00:37:28,816 --> 00:37:31,679 would answer her prayers. 859 00:37:31,679 --> 00:37:34,399 But God had other plans. 860 00:37:34,399 --> 00:37:36,816 But those plans did not include 861 00:37:36,816 --> 00:37:44,300 not answering her prayers. 862 00:37:44,300 --> 00:37:49,119 You pray according to the eternal will of God. 863 00:37:49,119 --> 00:37:50,823 And don't be shaken by any way 864 00:37:50,823 --> 00:37:54,101 He shakes circumstances 865 00:37:54,101 --> 00:37:58,745 to answer His own holy will. 866 00:37:58,745 --> 00:38:02,558 He is good all the time. 867 00:38:02,558 --> 00:38:08,327 And He is sovereign all the time. 868 00:38:08,327 --> 00:38:12,319 The Gospel heart is a thankful heart. 869 00:38:12,319 --> 00:38:15,112 It's a prayerful heart. 870 00:38:15,112 --> 00:38:20,032 And it's an encouraging heart. 871 00:38:20,032 --> 00:38:22,719 Here's why Paul wants to get to Rome. 872 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:27,279 V. 11 "For I long to see you 873 00:38:27,279 --> 00:38:29,549 that I may impart to you 874 00:38:29,549 --> 00:38:33,817 some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 875 00:38:33,817 --> 00:38:35,962 that is that we may be mutually encouraged 876 00:38:35,962 --> 00:38:39,748 by each other's faith, both yours and mine." 877 00:38:39,748 --> 00:38:41,449 Paul wants to get to Rome 878 00:38:41,449 --> 00:38:44,334 because he wants to give them a spiritual gift. 879 00:38:44,334 --> 00:38:47,631 And I can imagine that for Paul to come to Rome with a spiritual gift 880 00:38:47,631 --> 00:38:49,609 would mean that he would come and preach to them. 881 00:38:49,609 --> 00:38:52,502 Now, listen, there's a lot of great preaching on Romans. 882 00:38:52,502 --> 00:38:53,324 John Piper, 883 00:38:53,324 --> 00:38:54,411 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 884 00:38:54,411 --> 00:38:55,500 Sinclair Ferguson. 885 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,090 There's a lot of great preaching, 886 00:38:57,090 --> 00:39:00,352 but I'm going to just put my bets now 887 00:39:00,352 --> 00:39:01,745 on the best preaching ever 888 00:39:01,745 --> 00:39:04,653 through the ideas in Romans came from: 889 00:39:04,653 --> 00:39:06,732 the Apostle Paul. 890 00:39:06,732 --> 00:39:07,853 Can you imagine? 891 00:39:07,853 --> 00:39:09,542 What's Paul doing in your church? 892 00:39:09,542 --> 00:39:11,321 Oh, he's going to unpack those truths 893 00:39:11,321 --> 00:39:14,010 he brought in the letter. 894 00:39:14,010 --> 00:39:15,505 Get me there! 895 00:39:15,505 --> 00:39:17,139 That's incredible! 896 00:39:17,139 --> 00:39:20,142 He says I want to get there with a spiritual gift for you. 897 00:39:20,142 --> 00:39:24,141 I want to build you up with the Gospel. 898 00:39:24,141 --> 00:39:26,115 But what I want you to notice especially, 899 00:39:26,115 --> 00:39:28,565 Brian and Drew and Mark, 900 00:39:28,565 --> 00:39:33,925 is I want you to notice the humility of the man. 901 00:39:33,925 --> 00:39:37,479 He will not be understood 902 00:39:37,479 --> 00:39:42,315 to be a man with one-way blessings. 903 00:39:42,315 --> 00:39:43,866 He does not view himself 904 00:39:43,866 --> 00:39:46,209 as the one flying in 905 00:39:46,209 --> 00:39:49,433 with all the spiritual gifts. 906 00:39:49,433 --> 00:39:51,390 He says, "For I long to see you 907 00:39:51,390 --> 00:39:54,673 that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you," 908 00:39:54,673 --> 00:39:56,188 and he's got to catch himself, 909 00:39:56,188 --> 00:39:58,187 like he doesn't want to be misunderstood. 910 00:39:58,187 --> 00:40:01,600 "...that is, that we may be 911 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:05,057 mutually encouraged by each other's faith, 912 00:40:05,057 --> 00:40:07,960 yours and mine." 913 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:12,496 The author of the book of Romans 914 00:40:12,496 --> 00:40:14,383 wants to go and get blessed 915 00:40:14,383 --> 00:40:18,569 by people who haven't even read Romans. 916 00:40:18,569 --> 00:40:22,055 The theologian of theologians 917 00:40:22,055 --> 00:40:24,461 wants to go to a people 918 00:40:24,461 --> 00:40:28,064 barely introduced to theology, 919 00:40:28,064 --> 00:40:31,803 and experience God's blessing from them 920 00:40:31,803 --> 00:40:34,132 from their spiritual gifts. 921 00:40:34,132 --> 00:40:36,215 In fact, he tells them in Romans 15 - 922 00:40:36,215 --> 00:40:37,201 and you'll remember, 923 00:40:37,201 --> 00:40:38,762 that when they got to Romans 15, 924 00:40:38,762 --> 00:40:40,911 they'd only read Romans once. 925 00:40:40,911 --> 00:40:42,435 He says to them, 926 00:40:42,435 --> 00:40:44,536 "I am confident of you 927 00:40:44,536 --> 00:40:47,001 that you are full of all goodness 928 00:40:47,001 --> 00:40:52,076 and able to teach one another." 929 00:40:52,076 --> 00:40:54,549 We are sending you out, beloved, 930 00:40:54,549 --> 00:40:57,163 as a gift to Holy City Church 931 00:40:57,163 --> 00:40:59,057 in Charleston. 932 00:40:59,057 --> 00:41:02,740 But you don't arrive as the gift. 933 00:41:02,740 --> 00:41:05,742 You arrive as a gift. 934 00:41:05,742 --> 00:41:08,296 And there is a humility 935 00:41:08,296 --> 00:41:10,235 that pervades a church 936 00:41:10,235 --> 00:41:12,238 when the pastors recognize, 937 00:41:12,238 --> 00:41:16,280 they are one of the gifts in the body; 938 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,576 not the gifts to the body. 939 00:41:18,576 --> 00:41:20,387 There is a humility 940 00:41:20,387 --> 00:41:22,470 and a ministry and a life 941 00:41:22,470 --> 00:41:24,995 that occurs when the whole body realizes 942 00:41:24,995 --> 00:41:27,798 we have spiritual gifts 943 00:41:27,798 --> 00:41:29,492 to minister to each other. 944 00:41:29,492 --> 00:41:31,219 When everyone who walks in a room 945 00:41:31,219 --> 00:41:33,246 says I want to be here to bless you 946 00:41:33,246 --> 00:41:34,428 and encourage you, 947 00:41:34,428 --> 00:41:36,694 but I'm just as much here 948 00:41:36,694 --> 00:41:40,269 to be encouraged by you. 949 00:41:40,269 --> 00:41:42,453 It changes the whole dynamic 950 00:41:42,453 --> 00:41:44,741 in the character of the life 951 00:41:44,741 --> 00:41:48,896 of a church. 952 00:41:48,896 --> 00:41:52,659 A gospel shaped heart is a thankful heart. 953 00:41:52,659 --> 00:41:54,656 It's a prayerful heart. 954 00:41:54,656 --> 00:41:57,673 It is an encouraging heart. 955 00:41:57,673 --> 00:42:00,300 And it is an obligated heart. 956 00:42:00,300 --> 00:42:04,371 Now, there's a word we don't like much. 957 00:42:04,371 --> 00:42:06,213 But it's a biblical word, 958 00:42:06,213 --> 00:42:09,052 and so let's learn to love it. 959 00:42:09,052 --> 00:42:10,849 Because if you've got a biblical word 960 00:42:10,849 --> 00:42:17,713 you don't like, the problem's with you. 961 00:42:17,713 --> 00:42:23,376 V. 13, "I want you to know, brothers, 962 00:42:23,376 --> 00:42:25,403 that I've often intended to come to you, 963 00:42:25,403 --> 00:42:27,301 but thus far have been prevented, 964 00:42:27,301 --> 00:42:30,319 in order that I may reap some harvest among you." 965 00:42:30,319 --> 00:42:32,380 He wants to see some spiritual fruit - 966 00:42:32,380 --> 00:42:34,277 probably conversions in Rome, 967 00:42:34,277 --> 00:42:36,984 but also just growth in Christian grace 968 00:42:36,984 --> 00:42:38,404 among these Roman Christians. 969 00:42:38,404 --> 00:42:40,170 He goes, "I want you to know, brothers, 970 00:42:40,170 --> 00:42:41,854 that I have often intended to come to you, 971 00:42:41,854 --> 00:42:43,547 but thus far I've been prevented 972 00:42:43,547 --> 00:42:45,439 in order that I may reap some harvest 973 00:42:45,439 --> 00:42:46,725 among you as well as among 974 00:42:46,725 --> 00:42:48,067 the rest of the Gentiles. 975 00:42:48,067 --> 00:42:54,543 I am under obligation 976 00:42:54,543 --> 00:42:58,642 both to Greeks and to Barbarians; 977 00:42:58,642 --> 00:43:01,410 both to the wise and the foolish; 978 00:43:01,410 --> 00:43:03,968 so I am eager to preach the Gospel 979 00:43:03,968 --> 00:43:05,819 to you also who are in Rome." 980 00:43:05,819 --> 00:43:12,024 Paul viewed himself as a man obliged 981 00:43:12,024 --> 00:43:15,264 to preach the Gospel. 982 00:43:15,264 --> 00:43:16,636 The Gospel was for him 983 00:43:16,636 --> 00:43:21,087 not simply a can-do, but a must-do. 984 00:43:21,087 --> 00:43:23,619 It was a requirement; 985 00:43:23,619 --> 00:43:26,938 an obligation laid upon him 986 00:43:26,938 --> 00:43:31,428 by the resurrected Lord of the universe. 987 00:43:31,428 --> 00:43:34,408 He was obliged. 988 00:43:34,408 --> 00:43:40,670 And every Christian - now listen to me. 989 00:43:40,670 --> 00:43:45,556 Every Christian is obligated 990 00:43:45,556 --> 00:43:47,925 to share the Gospel. 991 00:43:47,925 --> 00:43:50,543 We'll go through it now. 992 00:43:50,543 --> 00:43:55,670 You've got your co-workers. 993 00:43:55,670 --> 00:43:58,978 Family. 994 00:43:58,978 --> 00:44:01,662 Friends. 995 00:44:01,662 --> 00:44:04,372 Neighbors. 996 00:44:04,372 --> 00:44:07,008 Facebook friends. 997 00:44:07,008 --> 00:44:09,226 Kids. 998 00:44:09,226 --> 00:44:11,285 Spouse. 999 00:44:11,285 --> 00:44:14,735 Place that biblical word on all that. 1000 00:44:14,735 --> 00:44:17,609 Obligated. 1001 00:44:17,609 --> 00:44:21,596 You must. 1002 00:44:21,596 --> 00:44:25,948 You must. 1003 00:44:25,948 --> 00:44:27,675 But the obligation that Paul 1004 00:44:27,675 --> 00:44:28,881 is speaking about 1005 00:44:28,881 --> 00:44:31,333 is not a grinding legalism. 1006 00:44:31,333 --> 00:44:33,077 It's not a grinding command 1007 00:44:33,077 --> 00:44:34,875 that will drive you into the dust. 1008 00:44:34,875 --> 00:44:36,899 You must even though you don't want to. 1009 00:44:36,899 --> 00:44:37,961 You really hate it, 1010 00:44:37,961 --> 00:44:39,222 but you must. 1011 00:44:39,222 --> 00:44:42,277 No, Paul says, I am obligated 1012 00:44:42,277 --> 00:44:45,240 and he says, I'm eager. 1013 00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:46,722 Do you see that there? 1014 00:44:46,722 --> 00:44:49,144 "I am under obligation 1015 00:44:49,144 --> 00:44:50,513 to Greeks and Barbarians." 1016 00:44:50,513 --> 00:44:52,336 He's just going through all the kinds 1017 00:44:52,336 --> 00:44:53,568 of people in the world. 1018 00:44:53,568 --> 00:44:55,415 Greeks, Barbarians, wise, foolish... 1019 00:44:55,415 --> 00:44:57,889 I have an obligation for all of them, 1020 00:44:57,889 --> 00:45:01,276 and so I'm eager 1021 00:45:01,276 --> 00:45:03,328 to preach the Gospel to you also 1022 00:45:03,328 --> 00:45:06,923 who are in Rome. 1023 00:45:06,923 --> 00:45:09,958 What is it that makes this obligation 1024 00:45:09,958 --> 00:45:11,453 an eager obligation 1025 00:45:11,453 --> 00:45:13,393 instead of a life-killing, 1026 00:45:13,393 --> 00:45:18,055 life-sucking obligation? 1027 00:45:18,055 --> 00:45:22,634 It's first Who the obligation comes from. 1028 00:45:22,634 --> 00:45:28,094 You must preach that Jesus died for sinners 1029 00:45:28,094 --> 00:45:33,147 says the One Who died for your soul; 1030 00:45:33,147 --> 00:45:36,419 says the One Who saved you. 1031 00:45:36,419 --> 00:45:38,347 The obligation comes from the One 1032 00:45:38,347 --> 00:45:41,712 Who loved us and gave Himself for us. 1033 00:45:41,712 --> 00:45:44,289 The obligation comes from the One 1034 00:45:44,289 --> 00:45:45,936 Who tells us that we are called 1035 00:45:45,936 --> 00:45:49,735 to be saints and we are loved by God. 1036 00:45:49,735 --> 00:45:50,870 But not only that, 1037 00:45:50,870 --> 00:45:52,590 the obligation is not to preach 1038 00:45:52,590 --> 00:45:54,457 a powerless Gospel. 1039 00:45:54,457 --> 00:45:56,731 We become eager to preach this Gospel 1040 00:45:56,731 --> 00:45:59,120 when we understand just how powerful it is. 1041 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:00,261 Do you see that here? 1042 00:46:00,261 --> 00:46:03,254 He says, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to Barbarians, 1043 00:46:03,254 --> 00:46:04,909 both to the wise and to the foolish, 1044 00:46:04,909 --> 00:46:06,450 so I'm eager to preach the Gospel 1045 00:46:06,450 --> 00:46:07,968 to you also who are in Rome, 1046 00:46:07,968 --> 00:46:11,009 for I am not ashamed of the Gospel, 1047 00:46:11,009 --> 00:46:12,736 for it is the power of God 1048 00:46:12,736 --> 00:46:16,858 for salvation to everyone who believes." 1049 00:46:16,858 --> 00:46:20,691 This Gospel is not useless. 1050 00:46:20,691 --> 00:46:22,429 It takes people who are 1051 00:46:22,429 --> 00:46:24,386 sinful little children 1052 00:46:24,386 --> 00:46:26,983 and saves them and sanctifies them 1053 00:46:26,983 --> 00:46:28,969 and makes them into the glory of Christ 1054 00:46:28,969 --> 00:46:30,350 like Lynn Shreve. 1055 00:46:30,350 --> 00:46:33,348 It is not a powerless Gospel. 1056 00:46:33,348 --> 00:46:34,518 If you are sitting here 1057 00:46:34,518 --> 00:46:36,605 believing the Gospel this morning, 1058 00:46:36,605 --> 00:46:39,236 your faith is being upheld 1059 00:46:39,236 --> 00:46:42,888 by this Savior; by His power. 1060 00:46:42,888 --> 00:46:48,678 And if He can save you, 1061 00:46:48,678 --> 00:46:52,575 He can save anybody. 1062 00:46:52,575 --> 00:46:54,579 Because you were dead 1063 00:46:54,579 --> 00:46:56,493 in your trespasses and sins. 1064 00:46:56,493 --> 00:46:58,427 You were not seeking God 1065 00:46:58,427 --> 00:47:00,156 because there's none who seeks God - 1066 00:47:00,156 --> 00:47:01,284 no, not one. 1067 00:47:01,284 --> 00:47:02,802 And now here you are 1068 00:47:02,802 --> 00:47:04,390 and where you want to go 1069 00:47:04,390 --> 00:47:06,803 on a Sunday morning is church. 1070 00:47:06,803 --> 00:47:08,390 You're not just weird, 1071 00:47:08,390 --> 00:47:10,821 you're born again! 1072 00:47:10,821 --> 00:47:13,064 You've been transformed. 1073 00:47:13,064 --> 00:47:16,226 God has done a work. 1074 00:47:16,226 --> 00:47:19,018 That's the power of the Gospel. 1075 00:47:19,018 --> 00:47:20,759 That you who were wracked with guilt 1076 00:47:20,759 --> 00:47:21,959 learned the lesson 1077 00:47:21,959 --> 00:47:23,537 that Christ gives a righteousness 1078 00:47:23,537 --> 00:47:25,041 when you have none of your own, 1079 00:47:25,041 --> 00:47:27,527 and you said, "yes!" 1080 00:47:27,527 --> 00:47:29,015 I want that! 1081 00:47:29,015 --> 00:47:34,056 Don't doubt for a minute He can do it again. 1082 00:47:34,056 --> 00:47:39,195 But rather, savor an eager obligation 1083 00:47:39,195 --> 00:47:43,173 to share it with everyone you can. 1084 00:47:43,173 --> 00:47:48,135 Mark and Brian and Drew, 1085 00:47:48,135 --> 00:47:52,680 you are called to eagerly preach 1086 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:56,012 the Gospel to every kind of person 1087 00:47:56,012 --> 00:47:57,503 in Charleston. 1088 00:47:57,503 --> 00:48:00,429 Every color. 1089 00:48:00,429 --> 00:48:01,766 Every background. 1090 00:48:01,766 --> 00:48:03,719 Every ethnicity. 1091 00:48:03,719 --> 00:48:05,433 Not just those that are like you 1092 00:48:05,433 --> 00:48:08,939 or that naturally like your church culture. 1093 00:48:08,939 --> 00:48:11,580 But to everyone who's dead in their sins 1094 00:48:11,580 --> 00:48:15,275 and needs a Savior. 1095 00:48:15,275 --> 00:48:20,319 Church, you don't know if you have tomorrow 1096 00:48:20,319 --> 00:48:21,683 with any of your friends 1097 00:48:21,683 --> 00:48:28,673 you're thinking about sharing the Gospel with. 1098 00:48:28,673 --> 00:48:31,494 You don't know. 1099 00:48:31,494 --> 00:48:35,186 None of us know. 1100 00:48:35,186 --> 00:48:39,299 Life is a vapor 1101 00:48:39,299 --> 00:48:43,144 Life is gone before you know it. 1102 00:48:43,144 --> 00:48:46,008 Do not delay when the Spirit 1103 00:48:46,008 --> 00:48:47,764 prompts your heart to share 1104 00:48:47,764 --> 00:48:51,508 His Gospel of grace. 1105 00:48:51,508 --> 00:48:54,422 He will save by it. 1106 00:48:54,422 --> 00:48:56,666 And if He doesn't save by it, 1107 00:48:56,666 --> 00:48:59,011 oh, it will still be salvation in your soul 1108 00:48:59,011 --> 00:49:00,586 that you were preaching 1109 00:49:00,586 --> 00:49:02,850 in obedience to Him. 1110 00:49:02,850 --> 00:49:05,507 It will be you working out your salvation 1111 00:49:05,507 --> 00:49:09,980 with fear and trembling. 1112 00:49:09,980 --> 00:49:13,124 And so beloved, let us praise God 1113 00:49:13,124 --> 00:49:17,833 and thank Him for Lynn's life. 1114 00:49:17,833 --> 00:49:22,268 Let's be prayerful for Lynn's family. 1115 00:49:22,268 --> 00:49:24,195 Let's seek to encourage 1116 00:49:24,195 --> 00:49:27,275 those who are in need. 1117 00:49:27,275 --> 00:49:32,172 And let's be obligated, because life can pass in an instant. 1118 00:49:32,172 --> 00:49:35,848 To Drew and Brian and Mark, 1119 00:49:35,848 --> 00:49:38,986 guard your hearts. 1120 00:49:38,986 --> 00:49:43,387 Keep it close to the Gospel 1121 00:49:43,387 --> 00:49:45,064 that you might be sustained 1122 00:49:45,064 --> 00:49:47,317 by a thankful heart, 1123 00:49:47,317 --> 00:49:49,313 and empowered by a prayerful heart. 1124 00:49:49,313 --> 00:49:50,886 That you might be a blessing 1125 00:49:50,886 --> 00:49:53,567 because you actually have an encouraging heart. 1126 00:49:53,567 --> 00:49:55,158 That you might spread salvation 1127 00:49:55,158 --> 00:49:57,355 by an obligated heart 1128 00:49:57,355 --> 00:50:00,164 to spread the Gospel.