Beautiful Feet.

Clint Miller

[0:00] Welcome to Village Church. [0:01] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:03] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church [0:05] and as always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each [0:08] and every one of you here this morning. [0:11] If this is your first time here,

[0:13] as you came in, you should’ve gotten a handout [0:15] and on that handout should’ve been something called, [0:18] we call it a Connect card. [0:19] If you’ll just do us a favor and just take a moment [0:22] during the service and fill that out [0:24] and when the ushers come by later with the offering basket,

[0:27] you can slide it in there or after the service [0:29] to the next steps table. [0:30] We would love to have the opportunity [0:32] to get in touch with you, to answer any questions [0:35] that you might have, to tell you a little bit more [0:37] about how to get involved in Village Church,

[0:39] about how to get connected to village groups [0:42] and how to serve on Sunday mornings [0:43] or some way throughout the week [0:45] and frankly, just so that you could get to know us [0:47] and we could get to know you a little bit better. [0:49] So please, do that for us.

[0:51] But before we get into the sermon time this morning, [0:55] a couple of months ago, we had a members meeting [0:57] in November and at that members meeting, [1:00] we put forward Clint Miller as a pastoral candidate [1:02] here at Village Church and then we put a long announcement [1:06] about it on the city as well.

[1:07] So if you’re out there and you’re like, [1:08] well, why didn’t I know about it? [1:10] You need to update your email settings on the city. [1:12] There is no excuse. [1:14] But I’m gonna ask Clint and his wife, Brooke, [1:17] if they would just come forward here for just a moment.

[1:20] It’s a joy this morning to put them forward [1:24] that we’ve heard some feedback [1:25] and we’ve gone through all the motions [1:28] and this morning, we want to officially install Clint [1:32] as a pastor, as an elder here at Village Church [1:35] and we’re elder led.

[1:37] So Clint is taking joyfully on the role of a shepherd here [1:41] of the body at Village Church. [1:43] And one of the amazing things is, here’s why we exist. [1:46] We exist as a church to worship Jesus [1:49] by helping as many people as possible [1:53] become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

[1:55] That’s why we’re here. [1:57] That’s why we do everything that we do. [2:00] And over the past six years, I’ve had the privilege [2:04] of seeing Clint through ups and downs. [2:06] He’s had the not so much a privilege of seeing me [2:09] and the other pastors here through our ups and downs

[2:11] and being in relationship with us, [2:13] but above and beyond that, he has caught a vision [2:16] for his life and he has made disciples [2:20] who make disciples here at Village Church. [2:23] He is following Jesus and seeking to help others [2:26] follow Jesus and through that path, he’s gotten married.

[2:31] I performed the marriage with joy [2:33] and I’ve seen him and his wife grow in relationship [2:36] with one another. [2:37] I’ve seen them begin to grow a family and have children [2:40] and Clint’s been to seminary, [2:42] he’s been through our leadership training here,

[2:44] which is probably harder than his seminary was, [2:46] probably not. [2:48] And he has in all things excelled to standards, [2:54] but it’s about more than that. [2:56] He has a passion for Jesus Christ. [2:59] He has a passion for his wife.

[3:03] He has a passion for you, [3:05] specifically the Church of Jesus Christ, [3:07] but in the local expression that is [3:10] Village Church at Midlothian. [3:11] And I’ve seen him over the past few years [3:14] take responsibilities that were elder level responsibilities

[3:18] with joy, with great discernment, with great passion. [3:22] And the biggest example that he’s been to me [3:25] is that he’s done it with great humility. [3:28] Done all things submitting to Jesus Christ. [3:31] He wants to lead his family well [3:34] and he wants his family to be an example

[3:37] of how Jesus loves his church [3:39] according to Ephesians chapter five. [3:42] And so this morning it’s a joy to add Clint [3:45] to our pastoral team here at Village Church. [3:47] That means he’s going to become a shepherd here [3:50] among the body, doing many of the roles

[3:53] that he’s already been doing, [3:54] but now really just as an official capacity [3:58] as part of the elder board here at Village Church. [4:00] And so here’s what I want to ask you to do. [4:03] I want to ask you first and foremost to love on Clint, [4:06] to love on his wife,

[4:07] and be to all things faithful to Jesus. [4:11] But I want to pray for him in just a moment. [4:13] I want to pray for his wife as well [4:14] and I want you during that time to pray for them [4:18] and to commit as I hope that you do [4:21] for all of the elders here,

[4:23] pray that God would protect this family. [4:26] Pray first that he would protect them from themselves. [4:29] That they would live lives of repentance towards Jesus, [4:32] live lives following Jesus, [4:34] but also that he would protect them [4:36] from the schemes of the devil in their lives,

[4:39] where he seeks to discourage them, [4:41] where he seeks to dissuade them [4:43] from following Jesus with faithfulness. [4:44] But what’s harder than that oftentimes [4:47] is leading others to follow Jesus with joy [4:51] and always being encouraged.

[4:53] And so I want to ask you to pray for him [4:55] and I want to ask you to help them [4:58] as you’ve been helping me. [4:59] And so please join me right now [5:01] just to pray to install them.

[5:05] Father, I want to thank you. [5:10] I want to thank you for Clint. [5:12] I want to thank you for Brooke. [5:14] The encouragement that they are to me, [5:15] the encouragement that they have been to me. [5:18] The example of what it is to repent of sin,

[5:22] what it is to be changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, [5:25] what it is to follow Jesus in obedience [5:28] and integrity and character. [5:30] I thank you for allowing me to be influenced by that. [5:36] Lord, I want to pray right now, [5:37] first and foremost, for their family.

[5:41] Lord, I pray for Clint as a husband, [5:44] that he would continue to be in all things to Brooke, [5:47] a true and faithful husband as he follows Jesus. [5:52] By your grace, I pray that he would be an inspiration [5:56] to Brooke in helping her follow Jesus. [6:00] And that as he follows Christ, she would follow Christ.

[6:05] Lord, I want to pray for Brooke. [6:07] Lord, I pray that you would help her [6:09] to be in all ways a true and faithful wife to Clint [6:13] as she follows you, Lord. [6:16] Lord, I pray a special anointing on this family, [6:20] that would love one another well,

[6:21] that they would lead well, [6:22] but that he first and foremost would pastor his family, [6:26] his wife, his children. [6:28] And through that, that they would be a representation [6:32] of what you cast as a vision for marriage in Ephesians 5 [6:37] as a picture of the relationship and the love

[6:40] that Jesus has for his church and the church has for Jesus. [6:45] Lord, protect them.

[6:47] Endure them with one another. [6:50] And Lord, I pray right now, [6:51] a special anointing on his leadership. [6:54] Holy Spirit, I pray that you would give him [6:56] supernatural discernment, supernatural wisdom, [7:00] supernatural knowledge in ways to help others follow you,

[7:05] and ways to lead others to the gospel. [7:09] And in that, I pray that you would help him in all things, [7:12] strengthen him, Holy Spirit, to be faithful to Jesus. [7:17] And Lord, I pray right now that you would help him [7:20] over the next 30, 40, 50 years [7:25] to have a burden for your word,

[7:27] to be faithful to your scriptures [7:30] as they’re found in the Bible, [7:32] that his passion would not wane, [7:34] but rather as time goes by, [7:36] that he would grow a bolder [7:39] and more joyous passion and burden for your word

[7:43] than he even has right now in the truth of your word, [7:46] the trustworthiness of your word, [7:48] the inerrancy of your word, [7:50] and the authority of your word and scripture. [7:54] And Lord, that he would constantly, as he does now, [7:57] make it his pursuit to lead people to the gospel,

[8:01] through the gospel, for the gospel, [8:03] and by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[8:08] Lord, thank you. [8:10] And my prayer is that today, [8:13] that we would have the joy of hearing [8:17] from Pastor Clint Miller. [8:19] Thank you, Father. [8:21] Amen.

[8:21] [8:22] And I’ve asked Clint today to preach [8:25] one of my favorite passages of scripture [8:28] from Romans chapter 10, Romans part 47 today, [8:31] which is all about living for others to hear the gospel.

[8:38] All right, well, thank you, Pastor Steve, [8:40] for that introduction, certainly not a normal introduction. [8:46] I am deeply humbled and thankful to be here, [8:50] A, as God’s son, as somebody who has been saved

[9:00] out of sin and death, [9:02] and I’m deeply humbled also to be in a position [9:06] where just that I can have a position of influence, [9:11] a position to help people,

[9:15] help people grow in their faith, [9:17] help people endure in their faith, [9:19] help people get more of Jesus, [9:21] and that’s what this church has been for me. [9:23] That’s what the leadership here has been for me. [9:27] They’ve been conduits of grace for me.

[9:30] They’ve been examples for me. [9:32] They’ve been folks who have really taught me [9:34] how to follow Jesus, and I’m deeply thankful [9:38] to them for that, and it’s my prayer [9:42] that I’ll be that for many to come. [9:45] This morning, we are going to get into

[9:48] the rest of Romans chapter 10. [9:50] Like Steve said, if you’ve been here with us, [9:53] we have been going through the book of Romans. [9:57] We’re in week 40-something. [9:59] Not sure which one, but since we picked back up [10:03] in Romans chapter nine, what we really have seen

[10:05] is that God is the author of salvation, [10:08] that it is through his good decree, [10:11] and it is through Jesus that he has saved [10:16] a people for himself, and that when he promised [10:19] to redeem man from sin, that he’s made good [10:23] on that promise, that really through Jesus,

[10:26] he’s made a way for all who call [10:29] and place their faith in him to be saved. [10:33] And so this morning, that’s what we’ll aim to look at. [10:36] We’ll also aim to look at the importance of that. [10:38] So let me read the text, and we’ll get right into it. [10:43] Romans 10, chapter 13, I’m sorry, Romans 10, verse 13.

[10:48] For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [10:50] will be saved. [10:52] How then will they call on him [10:53] in whom they have not believed? [10:55] And how are they to believe in him [10:58] of whom they have never heard?

[11:01] And how are they to hear without somebody preaching? [11:04] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? [11:07] As it is written, how beautiful are the feet [11:10] of those who preach the good news. [11:13] But they have not all obeyed the gospel, [11:15] for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed

[11:18] what he has heard from us? [11:21] So faith comes from hearing and hearing [11:23] through the word of Christ. [11:25] But I ask, have they not heard? [11:28] Indeed they have, for their voice has gone out [11:31] to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.

[11:35] But I ask, did Israel not understand? [11:37] For Moses says, I will make you jealous [11:41] of those who are not a nation. [11:43] With a foolish nation, I will make you angry. [11:46] Then Isaiah is so bold to say, [11:48] I have been found by those who did not seek me.

[11:52] I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me. [11:55] But of Israel, he says, all day long, [11:58] I have held out my hands to a disobedient [12:01] and contrary people. [12:03] Pray with me. [12:04] Father, we are thankful for your word.

[12:06] We’re thankful for what you’ve given us to know about you. [12:12] Lord, I pray this morning that we would grow [12:15] in our affection for you and the gospel, [12:18] and that we would also grow a desire and a passion [12:21] and a zeal and an obedience to take that message out [12:25] to everyone who needs it.

[12:27] And Father, we pray this in your name, amen.

[12:32] Number one this morning, God has promised to save [12:35] all who have faith in Jesus. [12:37] God has promised to save all who have faith in Jesus. [12:41] This is coming directly out of Romans 10 and 13 [12:45] where he just says, for everyone who calls [12:46] on the name of the Lord will be saved.

[12:49] In our culture, in our lives, [12:52] whether we’re in Christ or out of Christ, [12:55] what we have to deal with is that there is a standard [12:59] by which we will be judged by our creator, [13:02] by our God who has authority over us, [13:06] and he will judge us.

[13:07] And we as humans, we like to kind of play games [13:11] with the standard. [13:12] We are easily deceived by the standard. [13:15] We easily lessen the standard. [13:17] We normally seek to get out from under it. [13:19] We make things less of a deal.

[13:22] We tend to make light of our sin at times. [13:26] And part of the reason we do this is because [13:28] we kind of lose a grasp on how holy God is. [13:32] That our God is a holy God, [13:34] and that he is so far apart from sin, [13:37] and he never can be even closely related to it,

[13:41] that this creates a large gap between a holy God [13:46] and a sinful man, a sinful person, [13:48] and that’s who we are. [13:50] And so one of the ways I’ve seen this illustrated is, [13:55] at my job where I’m a teacher,

[13:59] when I try to enforce the rules, [14:03] when I put the rules out in the classroom, [14:06] the kids recently have been saying, [14:07] man, Miller, you’re OD-ing. [14:09] You’re OD-ing. [14:10] You’re doing too much.

[14:12] You’re bringing about too strict of rules. [14:14] We can’t abide by these rules, and of course, [14:18] unfortunately, I work at a detention center, [14:20] and so they really can’t abide by the rules. [14:24] And I don’t necessarily blame them for that, [14:26] but at the same time, what it shows us is

[14:29] that there is a standard, and we want to make it less, [14:34] and that’s what we do as people. [14:37] But to do so, we really have to understand [14:40] that the standard is not really what’s going to change. [14:42] The standard is the standard. [14:44] God’s standard is what it is.

[14:46] We will be judged by it and not what we think. [14:49] Nobody will be judged by what they think [14:52] things ought to look like. [14:54] Nobody will be judged by what standard of goodness [14:59] or morality or all the things that you’ve done. [15:02] That doesn’t matter by God’s standard.

[15:05] And so when we think about this, [15:07] when we really get back to it, [15:10] we become aware of our need for Jesus. [15:13] We become aware that if we’re going to spend eternity [15:17] with God and not the opposite, [15:19] we need to have a righteousness that gets us to a holy God.

[15:25] And that’s what the gospel of Jesus is all about. [15:28] In Jeremiah 17, 18, it’s just further evidence [15:33] of kind of who we are. [15:34] It says, the heart is deceitful above all things [15:37] and desperately sick. [15:39] Who can understand it?

[15:40] I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind [15:43] to give every man according to his ways, [15:46] according to the fruit of his deeds. [15:48] Elsewhere in the scripture, it tells us that [15:51] man is dead in their sin, [15:53] that they cannot do anything outside of faith

[15:57] to please God. [16:00] And that everything that doesn’t come from faith is sin. [16:02] And so if we’re really able to think about this for a minute, [16:06] if we’re able to think about God who sees us, [16:09] God who knows us, God who knows our sin, [16:12] if we were to hook up a Twitter feed to your thoughts,

[16:16] to your affections, [16:18] and it would just constantly spit out a feed of, [16:21] and at the end of the day, [16:22] you could look at everything that you thought. [16:25] I think we could see ourself a little bit better. [16:28] We could see our need for Jesus a little bit more.

[16:30] We certainly wouldn’t want others to see that. [16:33] Nobody would like us probably, if we’re honest. [16:38] And so that’s what God sees, and he knows we’re sinful. [16:43] And so what we have to do is come to a place [16:48] where we come in Romans 10, 13, [16:52] and we see a verse like,

[16:53] “’Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [16:55] “‘will be saved.’” [16:56] And so we have to know our desperate need for God, [17:00] and that’s what Paul is clinging to here in Romans 10. [17:03] He says that God’s plan has not failed, [17:08] that his plan from the beginning

[17:09] was to bring about a blessing through Israel, [17:13] through the people that he chose. [17:14] Not because they were special, not because they were good, [17:18] but because he chose them, [17:19] and because through them, [17:21] he would bring about the seed of Abraham

[17:23] that would be Jesus, and it would bless the nation. [17:26] So from the beginning, even though Adam and Eve disobey, [17:30] even though man falls from favor to God and can’t get back, [17:36] God goes ahead and implements a plan from the beginning [17:39] to bring about a way that he could save [17:42] for himself a people.

[17:44] And that’s what we see happen. [17:46] In verse 13, Paul quotes Joel 2.28. [17:51] He says that, really Paul, in quoting this, [17:55] he replaces the word Lord there, [17:59] he replaces Yahweh, which it is in the Old Testament, [18:02] the Jews would call out to Yahweh,

[18:05] the God of Israel, to deliver them. [18:08] They needed deliverance, they needed to be delivered [18:11] from the pits of Sheol. [18:12] David prays that Psalm, and so here, [18:15] Paul replaces that with Jesus. [18:17] Why?

[18:17] Because Jesus is God, he’s Lord. [18:19] He’s Lord of all people. [18:21] We’ve seen that he’s Lord of not only the Jews, [18:23] but the Gentiles, and he has made a way [18:26] to graft the Gentiles in, that he will be a blessing to all. [18:30] And he has done that.

[18:32] Why? [18:32] Because he’s sovereign. [18:33] Why? [18:33] Because he’s sovereign over all, and he’s worked that. [18:37] He’s worked that to bring about for his glory. [18:39] And so, we see this, and really,

[18:43] what we need to understand is really the gospel. [18:45] And one way we see the gospel is just in Galatians 3.13-14. [18:50] Galatians 3.13-14. [18:52] Why should somebody call on Jesus? [18:54] Why can they call on him? [18:56] What are his credentials?

[18:57] What has he done? [18:59] How’s he gonna save me? [19:01] If we think about that question in relation to this, [19:04] it says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law [19:07] by becoming a curse for us. [19:09] For it is written, cursed is everyone

[19:11] who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus, [19:15] the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, [19:18] so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. [19:23] So here we see, here we see redemption. [19:25] What is redemption? [19:25] It says, Christ redeemed us, he bought us.

[19:29] He bought us, he bought us at a price. [19:31] What was the price? [19:33] Price was his blood, the price was taking our place. [19:37] All that Twitter feed, all the sin that we’ve accumulated [19:40] over the course of our life, [19:41] a righteous God has to do something with it.

[19:44] We have a death sentence upon death sentence. [19:47] And what does Christ do? [19:48] He comes, he lives under a curse, but he lives obediently, [19:52] so he doesn’t actually have to endure the curse. [19:55] Christ didn’t do anything to warrant his punishment. [19:59] He lived perfectly.

[20:00] His Twitter feed was just all good. [20:04] I mean, if you think, that would probably annoy, [20:07] if you think somebody had a Twitter feed [20:08] of just all their good deeds all day long, [20:11] that’s Christ’s obedience. [20:12] It would be a beautiful thing if we looked at it that way.

[20:15] And it is, and so we see this, we see him buying us, [20:21] we see him trading places with us. [20:23] He becomes a curse for us.

[20:29] Now, we were destined as sinners for nothing else [20:34] but the wrath of God. [20:37] And so here we see Jesus out of his perfect obedience. [20:42] He doesn’t have to come, [20:43] he doesn’t have to get up on the cross, but he does. [20:46] He chooses to, he’s obedient to his father,

[20:49] their plan that they’ve made since the beginning [20:51] of the earth to redeem man, and he gets on there [20:53] and he takes the punishment. [20:55] He takes the wrath, he takes the penalty. [20:58] Took the penalty for, if you’re in Christ, [21:01] he took the penalty for a lifetime

[21:03] of rebellion against the king. [21:06] And his glory is worthy, and so the retribution [21:10] has to be nothing less than wrath and hell. [21:14] And so those things are real. [21:16] That’s what sin earns us, and that’s what Jesus endured [21:19] for us, if your faith is in him.

[21:22] And so he purchases us.

[21:28] Now, when we see this, really we have a reason now [21:35] to call on him. [21:36] We have a reason now to call on him. [21:38] When we see that this guy can actually, [21:39] he actually has credentials to take away my sin, [21:44] I can call on him.

[21:46] I can call on him, I can come to him, [21:47] I can call out to him to save me, [21:49] and I can see that I need saving. [21:52] I can see that he’s the only one who can save me, [21:55] and that’s what we see in the gospel.

[21:59] This news, this gospel, this news that everyone [22:03] who calls out will be saved. [22:07] Everyone who calls out in Jesus will be saved.

[22:11] If you are in here and you’ve called out that [22:15] Jesus has saved you, he’s saved you, [22:17] he’s paid your penalty, he’s paid for your sin, [22:21] he’s also changed you. [22:24] He’s given you the treasure of himself, [22:27] and he’s also given you a new life,

[22:28] and that new life ultimately, like Paul here, [22:32] saying, look, if this is true, if everyone can be saved, [22:35] this word needs to get out. [22:37] This word needs to come to people who need it. [22:40] This is the remedy for sin that plagues everybody, [22:43] and sin does plague everybody.

[22:45] What’s wrong with the world? [22:47] Sin, that’s it. [22:49] What’s the hope? [22:50] The gospel. [22:50] There’s nothing else, nothing else. [22:53] No other program, no other,

[22:56] nothing else is going to help at the end of the day. [23:00] The gospel is the answer. [23:02] And so the question is, are you sharing this news [23:05] with anybody? [23:07] Do you believe that the gospel can save anybody?

[23:12] Paul clearly does. [23:13] Paul believes that anybody who calls out [23:17] in response to the gospel can be saved [23:19] and will be saved forever, because God is good [23:22] and he’s the author of salvation. [23:24] It has nothing to do necessarily with what they’ve done.

[23:27] It’s all about him receiving glory [23:30] by saving a people for himself. [23:33] And so this news, this gospel news needs to go out. [23:38] One commentator put it promiscuously. [23:41] It’s not typically a word that we would use [23:44] or think about it that way, but I think it’s helpful.

[23:46] This word needs to go out to everybody. [23:49] This word needs to be heard by everyone [23:52] who’s in your life. [23:54] This word needs to be heard by the people [23:56] who for whatever reason just aren’t in your life. [23:59] I was thinking about this.

[24:01] When we know the gospel, when we come to realize [24:04] that we are, before we come to Christ, we’re idolaters, [24:08] we worship other things, the gospel gives us [24:12] kind of a knowledge on this. [24:13] We can see into people’s lives. [24:15] And I was convicted of this earlier this week.

[24:17] Just, and it’s been kind of an ongoing thing. [24:20] We recently moved into a new neighborhood [24:22] in the summertime.

[24:26] I worship Jesus, I love Jesus, [24:29] and I know that everybody worships something [24:31] and we’re very much idolaters. [24:36] I found myself looking at my neighbors [24:39] and trying to figure out what they worship. [24:42] What they worship.

[24:44] And actually in a sinful way, that became [24:47] kind of a hindrance of me believing [24:48] that they could come to believe Jesus, [24:51] that they could come to worship him. [24:53] So we have to be very careful and we have to keep inventory [24:56] of how we’re viewing people.

[24:58] Just because somebody else can’t see that it’s obvious [25:02] that people worship idols, and we can see that. [25:05] What does that do to us? [25:06] Does it send us out with an urgency? [25:09] Knowing that yeah, you worship an idol, [25:12] but here’s Jesus, here’s what you were meant to worship.

[25:16] Here’s why he’s better than that. [25:18] Here’s what he promises, here’s the things [25:20] that he can actually fulfill in your life [25:22] that your idol can’t. [25:25] But we have to have a sense of calling on that. [25:29] We have to be fervent to do that.

[25:32] And that’s what we see in point number two today. [25:34] We are the means by which people come to faith in Jesus. [25:38] We are the means by which people come to faith in Jesus. [25:41] So we got a God who saves, he’s gone out of his way [25:46] through history to show that he’s a God [25:49] who is going to save people,

[25:51] he’s a God who is going to redeem people, [25:53] he’s saving, he’s saved you, he’s saving others, [25:56] he’s going to continue to save until Jesus comes again. [26:00] The question is how? [26:02] People must hear. [26:03] How do people get saved?

[26:04] They get saved when they hear the gospel. [26:09] That the gospel is God’s means [26:10] to get a hold of somebody’s heart, [26:13] to bring them to life, to bring a dead person to life [26:16] so that they might be able to come to faith [26:18] and call out on Jesus for salvation.

[26:23] And so Paul understands this.

[26:26] He says the only things that, [26:27] really the only things that end up mattering [26:29] at the end of the day is, does somebody know Jesus? [26:34] Did they call on him? [26:36] Did they call out in faith on him? [26:39] Did they trust him fully?

[26:41] Did they believe that he was a sufficient savior? [26:45] And so we must acknowledge these things. [26:47] In Romans 10, 14 to 15, [26:50] Paul reasons very logically.

[26:54] This isn’t rocket science, [26:56] I’m glad I’m preaching this text, [26:58] it’s not that hard to get here. [27:01] How will they call on him in whom they have not believed? [27:06] How will they call on him whom they have not believed? [27:10] No one will call on anyone they don’t believe in.

[27:14] If you became aware of something, [27:17] some kind of medical need, [27:18] if you became aware that your spleen needed to be removed [27:23] or you had appendicitis or whatever the case would be, [27:26] you wouldn’t just call out to anybody to fix the ailment. [27:30] You would wanna know the credentials of that person.

[27:33] You would wanna know that you were calling out [27:35] for a doctor to save you [27:38] and that this person really had the ability to do it. [27:42] And that’s what we see here. [27:44] When people are calling out, they need to understand, [27:48] they need to believe that God had actually sent his son

[27:51] and he actually did something to make a way for us [27:55] to be forgiven and to live with him forever. [27:59] I mean, I don’t know about you, [28:00] but I wouldn’t let anybody who wasn’t a doctor [28:04] perform surgery on me. [28:07] I need to know his credentials.

[28:08] I need to know that he’s a sufficient savior [28:10] and Jesus is that.

[28:14] But people need to believe this. [28:16] They need to know that Jesus really was a person. [28:18] They need to know that he actually came to earth, [28:21] that he lived a sinless life. [28:23] They need to affirm that is true. [28:24] And then they really need to place their trust in him.

[28:27] They need to trust him. [28:29] If you think about the fact that, [28:32] really what does trust look like? [28:33] Trust is really when you’re actually depending on something [28:37] to the point where if it’s not true, [28:39] it’s gonna destroy you.

[28:41] So if you, you know, if we think about it in a way [28:44] that you’re gonna trust that a parachute is going to open [28:48] when you jump out of the plane, [28:50] you really have to believe that. [28:51] You have to believe that a parachute is capable of that. [28:55] And then to use it, you actually have to trust it.

[28:58] You have to actually jump out. [29:00] We actually have to trust Christ. [29:02] We have to trust him each and every day. [29:05] And we do that when we live in the gospel.

[29:09] The second part of this is, [29:12] and how are they to believe in him [29:15] whom they have never heard? [29:16] How are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? [29:21] People need to hear to be able to believe. [29:25] They need the news to be able to believe that it’s true.

[29:28] And so the gospel is news. [29:31] That’s primarily what it is. [29:32] The actual word gospel means good news. [29:35] Means good news. [29:36] And it is actually, as Paul says in Romans one, [29:41] that it is the power unto salvation.

[29:43] It’s the power of God unto salvation. [29:45] That God uses the gospel [29:47] and that nobody will come to call on him [29:49] minus hearing it. [29:51] And so people need to hear it. [29:54] Paul’s next question.

[29:57] Well, yeah, Paul’s next question here is, [29:59] how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? [30:02] How are they to hear without someone preaching them? [30:05] So he just continues the pattern of logic here. [30:07] Someone’s gotta go tell him. [30:09] Somebody’s gotta tell him.

[30:11] Somebody’s gotta tell our neighbors. [30:13] Somebody’s gotta tell the people at our work. [30:17] Somebody’s gotta tell the people that we hang out with. [30:21] Somebody’s gotta tell them. [30:22] They’re not gonna believe. [30:24] They’re not gonna believe.

[30:26] It’s very, very, very simple for Paul. [30:29] Basically, preach here just simply means [30:33] to herald or announce. [30:35] To herald or announce. [30:37] So when you think about it, [30:39] before there was the media outlets that we have now,

[30:44] that you can hear a story about 16 billion ways, [30:48] back then somebody actually had to bring the news by foot [30:51] and tell it. [30:53] They actually had to do that. [30:55] And then without that, nobody would have heard of it. [30:57] And so we need to understand that we need to actually

[31:01] herald the news wherever we are. [31:04] Preach here doesn’t necessarily mean a sermon in a church. [31:09] Preach just simply means really to, like I said, announce. [31:13] Where can you announce? [31:14] Where can you talk to people about Jesus? [31:17] You can do that over dinner.

[31:19] You can do that over coffee. [31:20] You can do that over a football game. [31:23] You can do that in the garage. [31:25] You can do that in your front yard. [31:28] You can do it anywhere. [31:30] And that’s really what we have to have in mind here.

[31:32] That when we think about these things, [31:36] that’s really what it’s going to look like [31:38] for us to take the good news to folks. [31:40] The last one there, how are they to preach [31:43] unless they’re sinned? [31:44] How are they to preach unless they’re sinned?

[31:46] So we gotta go. [31:47] We actually have to go talk to people. [31:50] We actually have to get to know them here. [31:52] It says, it leads into Paul’s illustration for us [31:56] and really our focus for today. [31:57] How beautiful the feet of those who preach the good news.

[32:01] How beautiful are the feet of those who preach [32:04] the good news? [32:05] And Paul’s taking this imagery from Isaiah [32:08] where he brings us a picture of a people [32:13] who are awaiting news. [32:15] And they’re looking out over the mountains

[32:16] and they see a messenger who’s running to them [32:20] with the news. [32:22] And he’s bringing news that the Israelites [32:26] will be let free from Babylonian captivity.

[32:32] That’s good news. [32:34] That they can’t wait for him to get there [32:36] to give them the news. [32:37] That they can tell by his stride. [32:39] A lot of times they would look at the messengers [32:41] and they could tell whether good news was coming

[32:43] or not coming. [32:45] And so Paul here is trying to actually tell us [32:48] that we who bring the gospel to people, [32:51] we who carry the gospel, [32:53] we who take the gospel to people [32:55] are announcing the good news that their captivity

[32:58] to sin and death and eternal punishment is over. [33:02] Should they respond in faith? [33:05] And so how beautiful are the feet of messengers? [33:08] Now we know this. [33:09] When we see sometimes on TV for whatever reason, [33:15] the publishers, clearing house people

[33:17] have dropped into my mind [33:18] where these people just show up on your door [33:21] and they of course have good news [33:23] that they’re gonna give you tons of money. [33:25] And people go ballistic and they dance around [33:29] and they get filmed and then it goes on TV

[33:32] and they look like fools. [33:33] But how beautiful are the feet of that messenger? [33:38] I mean literally those people who have received such news [33:43] might get down and kiss the very feet of the messenger. [33:48] Now feet are not, in my book anyway, attractive.

[33:53] Now fortunately we have shoes these days [33:55] but a messenger back then, [33:57] their feet would have been about the nastiest thing [34:00] to look at on their body. [34:02] They would have been cracked up, calloused. [34:05] I mean that’s what they did.

[34:06] They traversed bad terrain [34:09] and it took a toll on their feet.

[34:13] But the feet are beautiful. [34:15] The feet are beautiful because of the news that they carry. [34:19] The feet are beautiful because of the news that they carry. [34:23] If you’re a Christian you know this. [34:26] You think about the feet of those [34:28] who have carried the gospel to you.

[34:30] Who’ve carried the gospel probably throughout your life. [34:33] I know for me, [34:35] when I was thinking about this a little bit earlier, [34:37] especially fitting with today, [34:39] just guys that have shared grace with me, [34:42] guys that have guided me.

[34:44] How beautiful are their feet over those conversations? [34:48] Not just the moment of conversion [34:50] but the ongoing conversations. [34:53] The conversations at the coffee shop. [34:56] Conversations about real life. [34:58] The conversations about sin.

[35:02] Conversations about all kinds of things. [35:05] How beautiful are the feet who bring the good news?

[35:11] Friends, we need to build our identity [35:14] on having beautiful feet. [35:17] That Jesus is going to save people, he’s promised. [35:21] Paul says his promise, he’s made good on it. [35:24] The Gentiles are being grafted in. [35:25] People are coming to Christ.

[35:27] The church is being built.

[35:31] Paul says we need to build our identity [35:33] on having beautiful feet. [35:35] We need to carry this beautiful message [35:38] that all men need. [35:40] We need to take it to them. [35:42] We need to tell them.

[35:43] And we need to be convincing. [35:46] And so just some general ideas about [35:51] really what this amounts to is living missionally [35:54] and also amounts to evangelism. [35:56] And that’s something that we tend to get uncomfortable with. [36:01] It’s something that we struggle with.

[36:02] It’s something that because of our culture [36:04] and the way that faith is more seen as a private thing, [36:08] it’s not something that you should necessarily be sharing. [36:12] It creates a big challenge for us. [36:14] Creates a big challenge for us. [36:15] And so we have to understand that evangelism

[36:20] is really teaching the gospel with an aim to persuade. [36:23] Evangelism is teaching the gospel [36:25] with an aim to persuade. [36:27] So I think at best, [36:30] I mean I think in some of my instances, [36:32] like when I’ve started to share the gospel with people,

[36:35] I mean I’m nervous. [36:37] I’m nervous because I know what it is. [36:39] We all know that the gospel is bad news [36:41] before it’s good news, if you know it. [36:44] I mean we talked about the bad news. [36:46] But the reality is here

[36:51] that we need to engage people. [36:54] We need to be convincing. [36:56] We need to try to persuade them. [36:58] Doesn’t mean you’re going to force anybody to life. [37:00] You can’t force a corpse to live if you try. [37:03] We know that God saves, but we wanna work alongside him.

[37:07] We wanna be persuasive. [37:08] We want to know how to persuade people. [37:12] It’s an art. [37:13] Takes time to develop. [37:15] You gotta know, give yourself grace [37:17] when you’re sharing the gospel.

[37:19] It’s very rare that I know of anyway [37:21] that people have just blatantly, randomly met somebody, [37:26] dropped the gospel on them, and they came to life.

[37:30] I think for some reason, if you’re like me, in our head, [37:33] that’s what we think is gonna happen. [37:35] And it just tends not to be the case. [37:38] But rather conversion happens over a series, [37:40] over a period of time. [37:42] Now there’s no doubt one moment where death becomes life,

[37:46] where a sinner becomes a saint, [37:48] where somebody receives and is actually a believer. [37:53] There are no doubt it’s that moment. [37:55] But a lot of times, this is God just wooing [37:59] and bringing people into, drawing people unto himself. [38:05] And that’s gonna happen over the course of time.

[38:07] So we need to work with that. [38:09] We need to understand that. [38:11] We need to know that you’re not going [38:12] to get the entire gospel out in one conversation. [38:16] It’s okay if you don’t. [38:18] Hopefully if we’re doing relational evangelism,

[38:21] in other words, if we’re building relationships with people, [38:25] if we’re loving on them and serving them, [38:28] sharing our lives with them, [38:31] you’re probably gonna get another conversation. [38:34] It’s just the reality of it. [38:37] And so we need to just kind of get over ourselves sometimes

[38:42] where this is concerned and just be a little bit more [38:46] rational with it, understand how God saves. [38:49] I mean, I know for me, it was over the course [38:52] of a few months where God was just wooing me. [38:55] Of course I didn’t know at the time [38:56] really what was happening.

[38:58] But looking back on it, that’s what’s happened. [39:00] And how beautiful are the feet of those [39:02] that were involved in that. [39:04] And look back and be deeply, deeply thankful [39:08] that God put those people in my life. [39:10] And we ought to aim to be those.

[39:13] We ought to understand that God will use us [39:17] if we trust him, if we seek to have beautiful feet.

[39:28] We see this also, I mean, this is a text [39:31] that I think I very much have come to lean on. [39:36] I wanna share it with you this morning. [39:38] Just 2 Corinthians 5, 19 to 20. [39:41] Really all of 2 Corinthians 5, [39:43] but we certainly don’t have time for that this morning.

[39:47] But 5, 19 to 20, here’s what it says. [39:49] It says, that is, in Christ, [39:51] God was reconciling the world to himself [39:54] and not counting the trespasses against them [39:57] and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [40:01] Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ,

[40:03] God making his appeal through us. [40:06] We implore you on behalf of Christ, [40:09] be reconciled to God, be reconciled to God. [40:13] God is making his appeal through us. [40:18] He’s making his appeal to people to be saved, [40:20] to call out on his name, to call out,

[40:23] to trust him for salvation. [40:24] He’s making his appeal through us. [40:26] The key, I think, in this verse, [40:27] or one of the things that I think we need to take to heart [40:31] is the fact that we’ve been entrusted with the gospel. [40:35] We’ve been entrusted with it,

[40:36] that it’s of great value and it’s been given to us [40:39] and it hasn’t been given to us lightly, [40:42] that it came at a great cost.

[40:45] And so we have it. [40:47] The question is, what are we doing with it? [40:50] What are we doing with it? [40:53] God wants to see us steward it well. [40:55] He wants us to use it. [40:57] He wants us to go see it yield.

[41:00] He knows that the gospel is going to spread. [41:02] We have to know that, we have to believe that. [41:04] The gospel is spreading, it has been since Jesus. [41:08] And it will spread.

[41:11] God’s purpose and his mission cannot fail and it won’t. [41:14] And so we need to trust that. [41:16] We need to steward it well, we need to use it. [41:20] Also, the joy and trust of the gospel [41:22] are the fuel for having beautiful feet. [41:25] So when we consider, really, our lives

[41:28] and how we’re involved in bringing the gospel [41:30] to other folks, how we’re involved [41:32] in having beautiful feet, [41:34] we need to kind of take inventory. [41:36] One of the things we definitely need to think about [41:39] is are you motivated to?

[41:41] Are you motivated to take the gospel to others? [41:43] Do you want to do it? [41:45] Is it your treasure to the point [41:47] where you want to share it with everybody?

[41:51] Do you find a great need for it? [41:53] Do you yearn to see other people come to faith in Jesus? [41:56] Do you yearn to see them believe? [42:00] Do you yearn to see God worshiped [42:02] by those who are worshiping other things? [42:04] And we have to do that.

[42:06] We also have to care for people. [42:08] We also have to meet them where they’re at.

[42:11] People obviously don’t know the gospel [42:13] or they’d be trusting Jesus. [42:15] They’re living their life. [42:17] We need to be delicate in the way that we work with them. [42:21] We need to be winsome.

[42:25] But we’ll only be this if we’re actually ourselves [42:29] living in the gospel. [42:30] We’ll only be this if we’re actually [42:32] at the foot of the cross [42:35] and trusting it to save us each and every day. [42:39] When we think about the cross,

[42:42] we tend to see, and rightfully so, [42:45] we see the justice of God, right? [42:48] We see the justice of God and we see the great love of God [42:50] and we see that converging on Jesus. [42:53] That God’s pouring out his love for man through Jesus [42:57] and he’s also pouring out his justice on Jesus.

[43:00] There’s two sides to that and God’s not, [43:03] he’s not just just. [43:06] And so when we tend to lean that way, [43:08] we can go out into the culture and get mad. [43:12] We get frustrated.

[43:16] We can get kind of, you know, [43:19] the kind of fire and brimstone [43:22] that people can easily turn off [43:24] and frankly in this day, they probably will. [43:27] They probably will. [43:28] I know I’ve made mistakes there

[43:31] where I’ve focused mainly on the justice of the gospel [43:34] but not so much the loving aspect of the gospel. [43:38] And so we need to take inventory there. [43:42] What are people thinking when you’re telling them [43:45] or talking to them about the gospel? [43:47] What are they seeing?

[43:48] What are they seeing? [43:49] So we’re at the foot of the cross, we’re understanding, [43:51] we’re seeing the grace, we’re also seeing the justice, [43:55] we’re also seeing the love. [43:56] And so when we camp out there [43:58] and we go take that to others,

[44:01] we’re gonna love people. [44:03] We’re gonna love them. [44:04] We’re gonna come alongside them [44:06] but we’re gonna love them in a way [44:07] that doesn’t just accept them. [44:11] We’re gonna love them in a way that God loves them

[44:13] by sharing the gospel with them [44:15] and bringing, ultimately hoping to bring them to know them, [44:20] to call out to them for salvation. [44:22] That’s what we want to see happen.

[44:25] There’s some practical stuff here. [44:29] Evangelism is something that is extremely good [44:32] for your spiritual health. [44:34] One writer I was reading this week said [44:36] that it should even be treated like a spiritual discipline, [44:40] like you treat your prayer life,

[44:42] your scripture life, your life in community,

[44:47] those kinds of things. [44:48] It should be that much of an important element [44:53] because it’s a means of God’s grace to you. [44:56] Sharing your faith regardless of the result [44:59] is good for you. [45:01] It’s what we’re called to do and we need to do it.

[45:05] We need to do it from the foot of the cross [45:07] and we ought to be very motivated to do that. [45:10] Now, this will cause us to know the gospel better. [45:14] This will cause us to know the gospel better. [45:16] You’re gonna have to know what to say.

[45:20] This will cause us to know the word better. [45:22] This will cause us to pray desperately for people. [45:26] Are you praying for anybody in your prayer life? [45:28] Are you praying for non-believers to come to Christ? [45:32] Are you praying to be a messenger [45:34] that takes the news to them?

[45:38] If you’ve been involved in evangelism, [45:41] you know that, man, if you’re not praying,

[45:46] your whole, really, your whole hope is in God. [45:48] Your whole hope for that person is resting on you [45:50] and then when it doesn’t happen the way you think it should [45:53] or how it’s going to go, you get greatly discouraged.

[45:58] Paul’s advice is don’t lose heart, pray.

[46:02] God will save. [46:03] He doesn’t save everybody when we think they ought to be [46:06] or when they want to be. [46:08] But rather, evangelism is often more like farming. [46:12] It’s more like nurturing a seed [46:13] than it is throwing up a house in one week.

[46:17] It’s likely not going to happen that way. [46:20] We need to engage people. [46:22] We need to risk something. [46:24] Evangelism causes us to risk, [46:25] causes us to take risks for the gospel. [46:29] It causes us to actually have the potential

[46:32] for people not accepting us. [46:38] If we’re Christians and we want to see folks come to Christ, [46:44] it’s unlikely that everybody’s going to like us. [46:47] It’s very unlikely that everybody’s going to like us. [46:51] It’s very likely that we’ll see some moderate, [46:54] at least moderate persecution.

[46:56] And so, we’re actually, [46:59] that’s actually a means of God’s grace too. [47:03] Blessed is he who endures persecution for my name. [47:07] Coming out of Matthew. [47:09] Just, I mean, so, [47:12] nobody’s ever going to reject you

[47:14] if you just don’t ever share the gospel. [47:18] Israel, his own, rejected him. [47:21] Paul gets beat up. [47:23] Not everybody’s happy to see Paul show up. [47:25] Not everybody’s happy to see him come to town. [47:30] But it drives him forward.

[47:32] Drives him to the knees, [47:34] drives him to his knees to pray for people. [47:37] Lastly, this morning, [47:38] God is using his people to build his church. [47:40] God is using his people to build his church.

[47:45] What we see, really, at the rest of Romans here fills out, [47:49] I mean, ultimately,

[47:52] people are confused. [47:53] Why aren’t there more Jews coming to Christ? [47:56] Why have the Jews not received the Messiah? [48:01] Why have they rejected him [48:03] and they’re still awaiting another? [48:06] And why are the Gentiles coming in?

[48:08] Ultimately, this is the fruition of God’s plan [48:10] and Paul knows that. [48:12] And he’s happy about it and he rejoices in it. [48:14] We know that he’s heartbroken over his brothers. [48:16] We know that he’s heartbroken [48:17] over the Jews who have rejected him,

[48:19] but God has not failed [48:21] and God has promised to build his church [48:23] and that’s what he will do [48:25] and that’s what he did. [48:27] That’s what he’s doing today. [48:29] He’s building his church.

[48:30] He’s building his church.

[48:34] Paul acknowledges in verse 16 [48:36] and throughout the rest [48:37] that not everybody will obey the gospel. [48:40] Not everybody will obey the gospel. [48:42] Not everyone will see it as good news. [48:44] Not everyone will see your feet is beautiful,

[48:47] but the reality is some will. [48:50] Some will. [48:51] So don’t lose heart. [48:52] We don’t lose heart.

[48:56] The gospel births a new community, [48:58] which is a hub for mission. [49:00] We see this in Acts two, verse 42 to 47. [49:04] Acts two, 42 to 47. [49:06] It says, and they devoted themselves [49:08] to the apostles teaching and the fellowship,

[49:11] to the breaking of bread and the prayers, [49:13] and all came upon every soul [49:15] and many wonders and signs [49:17] were being done through the apostles. [49:19] And all who believed were together [49:22] and had all things in common.

[49:24] And they were selling their possessions and belongings [49:26] and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. [49:31] And day after day, [49:32] attending the temple together [49:34] and breaking bread in their homes, [49:35] they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

[49:40] praising God and having favor with all people. [49:43] And the Lord added to their number, [49:45] day by day, those who were being saved. [49:48] The Lord added to their number day by day. [49:51] And so really what we see here is a picture of believers [49:53] who have come to believe the gospel

[49:55] and it’s created a community. [49:57] It’s created a church. [49:59] It’s created a band of believers [50:02] who are living out the implications of the gospel. [50:04] They’ve found great joy in it [50:07] and now they’re living the way that many folks

[50:10] in the world would love to see happen. [50:13] The reality is it will not happen [50:14] without Jesus at the center, [50:16] without the gospel at the center. [50:19] This community of believers devoted themselves [50:21] to the word, the gospel,

[50:23] the serving and loving each other. [50:26] And ultimately, their focus extends toward, [50:30] ultimately two ways, really toward God [50:32] and then towards others. [50:34] It drives them out. [50:36] It drives them out into the culture

[50:38] with a love and a concern for others. [50:42] And what does the Lord do? [50:43] He adds to their number. [50:45] He adds to their number. [50:47] And so really here at Village Church, [50:49] we want this to be kind of a hub for mission.

[50:52] We want the church to be those who [50:55] have been made a church by the gospel, [50:57] those who live in the gospel, [50:58] and those who, because we love Jesus, [51:03] take the gospel out, [51:04] that we’re propelled out into the culture.

[51:08] Even when we’re naturally not, [51:11] the love of Christ controls us, [51:13] sends us out. [51:14] Something else has taken over our life. [51:17] Our dream doesn’t matter anymore. [51:19] God’s dream matters.

[51:22] God’s dream will come to fruition [51:24] and that’s what he has for us. [51:26] Beautiful feet to deliver a message.

[51:31] So more stuff on, [51:33] just really practical stuff here. [51:36] Evangelism is mainly accomplished at the church. [51:39] We end to set up a culture of evangelism.

[51:44] Ultimately, evangelism becomes less intimidating [51:46] when we get people together. [51:48] So we need to use what the culture gives us. [51:52] We need to redeem it. [51:53] We need to use it to get into people’s lives [51:57] to a point where we can share the gospel with them.

[51:59] We need to use what our culture already has. [52:02] We don’t need a program here [52:03] that meets on Thursday night and does evangelism. [52:07] We need people who believe the gospel. [52:09] We need people who know that we are to be the feet of, [52:15] we are to have beautiful feet and take the message out.

[52:18] We need people who are willing to invest their lives in that. [52:21] That looks like us creating communities of people. [52:25] In our neighborhood over the last year, [52:28] we’ve been able to just create environments [52:31] where our neighbors have been there [52:33] with folks from our village group.

[52:36] So we’re just creating really a pot [52:39] of believers and non-believers [52:40] and we’re just getting them together. [52:42] We’re just having them talk, [52:43] having them share lives with each other. [52:46] I mean, I do it, we did it around a homemade ice cream maker,

[52:52] which is something I love. [52:54] But ultimately the goal wasn’t just to have ice cream, [52:57] it’s to get to know these people, [52:58] to build relationships with them, [53:01] to let them see our life. [53:03] And so that’s really our hope.

[53:04] That’s really what we need to pour our lives into.

[53:12] Lastly, this morning in 1 Thessalonians 2.8, [53:15] we see this reality. [53:17] Paul says, so being affectionately desirous of you, [53:22] we were ready to share with you [53:24] not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, [53:27] because you had become very dear to us.

[53:31] We need to see people as souls made in the image of God,

[53:37] that they’ll be existing in eternity, [53:42] either with Jesus in the new creation [53:44] or apart from him in eternal punishment.

[53:49] So we need to understand that. [53:51] That’s how we need to see people. [53:52] The thing is we see people like that, [53:57] should change the way that we approach them. [54:01] If we just see them how we see them in our natural, [54:04] sinful self, we probably won’t move toward them.

[54:09] I mean, frankly, they probably have little in common [54:13] with us and certainly not going to make me [54:16] affectionately desirous of them, but the gospel does. [54:19] The gospel makes them souls. [54:21] It enables us to see them for who they are. [54:23] They’re people made in the image of God who need a savior

[54:26] and Jesus aims to be theirs. [54:29] And so this morning, I just want to encourage you [54:33] that I want to encourage you to build your identity [54:36] around being the feet of Jesus.

[54:41] Trusting that you can see people in your life [54:44] who have been the feet of Jesus, [54:46] and you can have a great desire to be that for others. [54:50] I know that’s what I want to be. [54:52] I want to deliver beautiful news. [54:54] I want to have beautiful feet because of the news

[54:56] that I deliver to people. [54:58] I want people to be saved. [54:59] I want people to know Jesus. [55:01] I want people to live with him forever. [55:04] We still want that, desire that, and build our lives on it. [55:09] So this morning, as the band comes up,

[55:12] we will transition into a time of communion, [55:16] a time where we proclaim our trust. [55:20] We proclaim our trust in the blood of Jesus. [55:26] It’s a time to reflect that he is the one who has saved us.

[55:32] He’s the one we rely on and he’s the one [55:35] that we want others to come to partake in. [55:38] And so if you’re a believer, here this morning, [55:41] these tables are open to you. [55:43] If you’re not a believer, we would ask [55:47] that you would refrain.

[55:49] If you have heard the gospel today [55:52] and want to put your trust in Jesus, [55:55] there’s those in the back who would love to talk to you, [55:59] love to pray with you, love to have you call out on Jesus [56:03] for salvation. [56:05] So come when you’re ready.