Steve Gentry
[0:00] Well good morning, you can go ahead and have a seat [0:02] My name is Nate. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church and [0:06] Welcome, we’re glad you’re here [0:07] I’ll just save those of you who might have brought someone new this morning the trouble of explaining this later [0:12] But no, I’m not the normal guy the normal guy is Steve. He’s there in the back and [0:18] Actually, we didn’t think he’d even be here this morning
[0:20] We figured him and Jesse would either be at the hospital or at home with their new baby, but that hasn’t quite worked out yet [0:25] He’s comfortable where he is and he’s being a little stubborn. So either way you’re still stuck with me anyway, and [0:32] We’re gonna have a good time this morning while Steve’s away [0:35] I want to talk a little bit about something that’s really important to us here at Village Church [0:39] Something that we always want to be a part of our DNA as a church [0:43] So we’re gonna be in Romans chapter 15 this morning. You can go ahead and turn there
[0:47] Most weeks what you’re gonna find here at Village Church is Steve up here delivering the message and after this morning [0:52] You’ll be glad that it’s usually Steve [0:55] Maybe you’ve noticed by now [0:57] Most weeks really actually every week we’re gonna end up talking about this thing called the gospel [1:02] We talk about the gospel almost every week and that’s not to say that we talk about the same thing week after week because we don’t [1:09] We actually usually what we do is we go through
[1:11] Books of the Bible we go through those books verse by verse really [1:14] Concentrating on giving you guys the full counsel of God’s Word [1:17] So we’re talking about different things every week [1:19] But there’s this funny thing the gospel just seems to creep in there everywhere and I think God designed it that way [1:26] But what I want to do is I want to kind of explain to you this morning why that is because here’s the thing [1:32] It’s not like I’m there in the back just tuning out every week because Steve’s talking about the gospel again
[1:37] And I’ve already heard this one and I can just take a break. It’s not like that at all [1:42] Somehow I think we get this idea that the gospel is Christianity 101 and [1:46] It’s something that we need to get need to get saved and it’s something that new people should understand [1:51] But in order to really grow in the faith, we kind of have to proceed beyond the gospel [1:55] We have to understand the truths and that’s not the case. I don’t know where we got this idea [2:00] The gospel is not Christianity 101. It’s actually the deepest most
[2:06] Convicting thing possible because the gospel is the thing that actually directs our lives once we come to know Jesus [2:11] And so this morning I want to show you from scripture a little bit about this concept this idea that the gospel is the thing [2:18] That directs our lives the gospel is the thing that we’re always supposed to be turning back to [2:22] To see Jesus and to see how we’re supposed to be living so [2:26] To do that Romans 15 is gonna be very helpful for us. Let’s go ahead and look there now at verse 14 [2:35] Paul’s writing to the church in Rome. He’s writing to believers and he says I myself am satisfied about you
[2:40] My brothers that you yourselves are full of goodness filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another [2:46] Let’s stop right there because I want to set this up a little bit. I want to show you [2:51] Paul is actually praising the Roman church pretty good here, isn’t he? [2:55] He’s saying some pretty good things about them [2:57] The first thing he says is he says that he’s satisfied that they’re full of goodness. These are good people [3:02] This isn’t a superficial morality either the Romans were good. I’m thinking they gave to the poor
[3:08] They took care of widows. They displayed the fruits of the spirit. These were people you wanted to be around [3:13] These were generally good people full of goodness. That’s a good thing. These are [3:18] These are people we want to be around and then the next thing that Paul says is that they’re filled with all knowledge [3:25] And they’re able to instruct one another and this again isn’t a superficial kind of knowledge and from the context we can tell [3:32] Paul’s actually talking about knowledge of God and what he’s talking about here. The Romans were smart Christians [3:37] Okay, these are people that knew what they believed and why they believed it so much so that they’re actually able to teach one another
[3:44] So these are not rookie Christians that Paul is talking to here. These are people very smart [3:49] He tells he says that they’re full of all knowledge [3:53] so [3:54] Think with me a little bit here [3:56] The book of Romans is probably the most complete [4:01] Picture of the gospel in any one letter that we have the other letters are important
[4:05] I wouldn’t want to do without them [4:06] But Romans really kind of spells out the Christian life in the gospel like no other letter that we have in a systematic detailed form [4:14] From our lostness and sin to salvation in Jesus to the Christian life and all kinds of things in between [4:20] Romans really just kind of let everything out [4:22] So you would think that given that that Paul would be writing to a group of people that didn’t really know much [4:27] That he’d be writing to a group of people that just needed to start with the basics and have everything laid out for them
[4:33] But that’s not the case at all the Roman Christians, like I said, they’re not rookie Christians [4:38] They’re full of goodness and full of all knowledge [4:42] And yet Paul still felt compelled to write this book of Romans to them that just lays out the Christian life in [4:49] Very detailed manner and really all hits on gospel throughout this book over and over again [4:55] So why why did Paul feel the need to write in such detail to the Romans about the gospel? [5:00] That question is going to be important to us as we look at why we talk about the gospel so much here at Village Church
[5:06] Let’s move on to verse 15 [5:09] We’re just gonna start with just the first word of verse 15 actually because Paul says but [5:15] And that’s not a good thing for the Romans right there because Paul has just said some great things about the Romans [5:20] He says they’re full of goodness and they’re full of all knowledge [5:23] So when someone says some good things about you like that a word that you don’t want to hear coming next is but [5:28] Because that means he’s probably about to say something not so good about you
[5:32] It works the same way if someone says a whole bunch of bad things you want to hear but [5:37] In the first couple chapters of Romans Paul spends two chapters [5:41] Just talking about how we are condemned in our sin, and then he says in Romans 321 [5:45] But the righteousness of God through Jesus is available to all those who believe so that’s the greatest news in the world [5:51] But here we’ve got the opposite going on [5:54] Paul has just said the Romans are full of goodness and full of all knowledge, and then he says but but something is wrong
[6:02] Paul says but on some points I’ve written to you very boldly by way of reminder [6:06] Because of the grace given to me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in [6:11] The priestly service of the gospel of God [6:14] So that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable [6:17] sanctified by the Holy Spirit [6:21] So even though the Romans are good people and even though they have knowledge of the things of God
[6:25] Paul still feels it’s very important that he writes boldly to them by way of reminder [6:30] And he talks to them about this gospel mission that he has to the Gentiles and the things that it’s led him to do [6:37] So we know that Paul is not saying anything here. That’s news to the Romans. He says he just admits right there [6:43] He was writing by way of reminder. He’s telling them things that they already know
[6:48] But if they’re full of goodness and they’re full of knowledge, why does Paul need to do this? [6:53] Why does he need to tell them things that he already knows? [6:56] Is it that [6:57] Paul thinks that they know the gospel, but they don’t really have the gospel kind of this idea of you can know things about Jesus [7:05] But not really have Jesus. I think that that happens and I think that’s true a lot [7:10] But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here at all because Paul says earlier
[7:13] He’s writing to the Saints in Rome and he just got done saying they’re full of goodness and thanks to the saints [7:17] full of knowledge [7:17] These are believers that Paul is writing to so I don’t think it’s a situation where he’s telling you don’t really get the gospel [7:24] I think they get the gospel. I think they have the gospel. They’ve been changed the Gospels transformed their lives [7:29] So I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. Is it that Paul knows that believers will never outgrow the gospel?
[7:39] Does Paul know that even though they’re full of goodness and full of knowledge [7:43] Still what they need more than anything else is the gospel in their life [7:47] I think that’s what’s really going on here [7:50] I think Paul knows like we need to know that the gospel is not Christianity 101 [7:57] Paul even says here he’s writing boldly to remind them of the gospel and he’s given examples of how the gospel has changed him [8:03] And how the gospel has affected him Paul knows that the Roman Church needs the gospel and that they haven’t outgrown it because Paul
[8:11] Hasn’t outgrown the gospel gospel still affecting Paul [8:16] So the first thing that I want us to see the first reason that I want us to understand of why at Village Church [8:22] We talk about the gospel so much is this the gospel is bigger than we realize
[8:29] We forget how the gospel is supposed to guide every part of our life and we reduce it to something that’s too small [8:35] And so we’ve got to understand the gospel is bigger than we realize [8:38] Look at verse 16 with me real quick just one more time
[8:43] Paul says to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God [8:50] So that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable [8:53] Sanctified by the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus then I have reason to be proud of my work for God [8:58] Do you see what the gospel means to Paul here the gospel is not just a one-time event for him [9:04] It’s not something that just happened and now he’s moved on to deeper things [9:07] He’s actually saying that the gospel is what puts him in service
[9:11] The gospel mission is what drives Paul to do what he does to go to all these different places and to preach the message [9:19] of Jesus [9:20] And now he’s saying to the Romans that you need to do the same thing [9:24] You need to be reminded of what the gospel has done in me remember [9:27] This is the same Paul that says be imitators of me as I follow Christ [9:31] And so he’s telling the Romans they need to learn from his example even in verse 17 there
[9:37] Paul is saying that the gospel has caused him to work hard, and he has reason to be proud of it because of Jesus [9:44] So we need to remember that the gospel is not just where we’ve been [9:48] The gospel is also where we’re going and I don’t think we usually get this [9:52] I don’t think we get that the same power that saves us in the gospel is the power that we need to live in now
[10:00] The gospel can’t just be a story of something that happened to us at some point in the past because when we get the gospel [10:07] That message changes us [10:11] We get new desires we start to want to live a new life and that has to happen [10:16] So the gospel can’t just be a story of something that happened in the past [10:19] it’s not a ticket to heaven and it can’t be because [10:23] When we get the gospel we get a desire to live a new life now and heaven’s important
[10:29] And we’re going to talk about that in a little bit [10:31] But it’s also important that we understand that we get a new life now that leads us to mission [10:36] The gospel causes us to live differently with new purposes and [10:40] Sometimes it’s helpful when we’re discussing that and you’ll it’s another thing you’ll hear around here at village a lot [10:46] Is that sometimes we call that part of the gospel the mission of Jesus? [10:50] And the reason that we do that is just to kind of help ourselves realize that the gospel is bigger than ourselves
[10:57] That we have a mission and so when we’re talking about the gospel and we’re talking about the mission of Jesus [11:01] It’s the same thing we’re just talking about the good news that though we’ve been separated from God by our sin [11:07] Jesus came and he died on the cross and now we can be reconciled with God and then it doesn’t stop there [11:13] And this is the key [11:15] Jesus came to seek in the state of the loss [11:17] And then he said we’re on that same mission and he put us on that same mission and that’s all the gospel
[11:24] From God creating a way for us to be reconciled to him to Jesus putting us on mission until the fullness of all things [11:31] That whole thing is the gospel and we’ve got to understand that we can’t reduce it just to one part of that [11:36] Some people even reduce it to the end believe it or not [11:39] Some people miss the part about Jesus on the cross and just reduce the gospel to us being on mission [11:45] I don’t know how you can have mission without Jesus on the cross anyway, but we can’t any of those things [11:50] We’ve got to have a big gospel. We’ve got to realize how much the gospel really changes us
[11:57] Here’s the thing I don’t want you guys to get the idea that [12:02] The gospel is supposed to turn us all into missionaries [12:05] It is but when I say missionaries, I’m thinking in the modern American culture lingo of missionaries like people who go to China [12:13] We need more people going to China [12:14] I’ll tell you that right now in a lot places more than that too [12:17] But the gospel is supposed to change each of us in every part of our life
[12:21] Because the gospel is supposed to give us a new reason for living so [12:26] Whether it’s our work or our family or anything we do [12:30] We’ve got to wrap our minds around this concept that the gospel [12:33] Really can change every part of our life and give us a new reason for living. It’s a new purpose [12:39] It’s and this is what we’re talking about when we talk about a new creation
[12:45] Whether we say the gospel or the mission of Jesus it’s still the same thing [12:48] It’s still the gospel that saves us and connects us to God [12:51] It’s still the gospel that changes us and it’s still the gospel that sends us out on mission [12:55] And I think the problem for a lot of us who have been following Jesus for a while a lot of us who’ve been redeemed [13:02] Is that we get this idea? [13:04] Like I said at the beginning that we think we need to grow beyond the gospel
[13:08] In reality what needs to happen is we need the gospel to grow us [13:13] We need the gospel to see the world bigger than the limited view that we’re seeing it in [13:19] We need to give the gospel authority in our lives and that is a key issue [13:24] we need to understand that the gospel can do what we do and [13:28] Send us places and have us do things. We wouldn’t normally do the gospel changes us. It’s changed me [13:34] I wouldn’t be up here. It wasn’t for the gospel. I can guarantee you that
[13:39] The gospel causes us to talk to people who wouldn’t talk to to open our hearts to people we wouldn’t open our hearts to
[13:46] Here’s the thing [13:48] We don’t really believe I don’t think that this kind of life is possible [13:52] And when Paul talks about his service of the gospel and his work among the Gentiles [13:57] We just kind of think it’s this pie in the sky [14:00] Fairy-tale thing that is kind of the ideal that Christians should look up to but Paul did it once but it’s not really realistic [14:06] that we could do that now and
[14:09] I’m here to tell you that’s not true [14:12] This idea that we could have a big gospel that really der every part of our life is [14:19] Real it can happen. I’ve seen it happen in our community [14:23] I’ve experienced it and I’m not saying that we do it perfectly [14:26] I’m not saying by any means that every decision that I make every decision that Steve make is gospel focus [14:32] But I’ve seen people in this community have their lives radically changed in the last couple years to where I
[14:39] Can tell you I really do think about the gospel almost every day and I really do take it into consideration [14:45] I can say this in every big decision I make and it is possible and I’m by no means perfect in that [14:51] I screw up every day, but it’s getting better and I’m on a journey where that’s increasing. This is not [14:58] some pie in the sky [15:01] Ideal lofty Christian ideal. This is a reality of what we can live in
[15:07] When we start to understand the gospel not just in terms of a moment in time when Jesus changed us [15:12] but in terms of the moment when Jesus [15:15] Transformed us to live differently for the rest of our lives [15:19] It starts to look a lot bigger because now we’re not just asking the question. Am I going to heaven? [15:25] It’s an important question and I promise and that hope is important [15:29] But it’s also important that we also ask the question. How is the gospel changing me?
[15:34] Today how is the gospel changing me this week and a lot of us for some reason have stopped asking that question [15:40] Or we never have been asking that question and we need to ask that question [15:44] We need to let the gospel change us right now [15:47] We need to let this idea that we are on a mission [15:50] Jesus that there are people who are lost and there are people that need him should impact the things that we do [15:57] Every day and it’s not just about going to other countries. It’s also about the lives that we’re leaving living right here
[16:05] So if we’re really gonna get at the gospel in this way if we’re really gonna get at a big gospel [16:10] We’ve got to be reminded of it over and over again [16:12] So that’s the first reason that at Village Church up here on Sunday morning [16:16] You’re gonna find Steve and whoever else is up here talking about the gospel all the time [16:21] We need constant reminders bold reminders as Paul says that the gospel is way bigger than we realize [16:29] There’s another reason though
[16:31] It’s a little more subtle and this is where we’re gonna spend the rest of our time this morning [16:35] But it’s just as important [16:36] I think we see in these verses another reason that we have to talk about the gospel all the time as a church and [16:43] It’s as simple as this we need to talk about the gospel all the time because we forget it and [16:50] It’s simple but I think it’s profound if we really wrap our minds around this and we’ve got to agree [16:56] Not only do we forget that the gospel is big but we just plain get busy with life and just forget about the gospel period
[17:04] Can we agree that this happens to us that life just kind of takes over? I’m not that old but I figured that out already [17:09] Things just happen. We get busy. We have work. We have school. We have kids. We have [17:14] Relationships we have more work some that we get paid for and some that we don’t but it’s all work [17:18] And we just get busy and before we know it the weeks just kind of seem to slip away [17:22] And it seems like we were just at a July 4th picnic, but we just had Thanksgiving dinner [17:26] You know and we all are busy and we all tell each other how busy we are and we all think we’re busier than everyone
[17:31] else and we all play that game and [17:35] Life just gets away from us and when that happens it can be so easy to go days and weeks and then months without [17:42] Remembering this gospel mission that we’re supposed to be on [17:45] Some of us have been living like this for years, and it’s not that we forget about God [17:50] You don’t understand. It’s not that we don’t go to church. It’s not that we’re not good people [17:53] It’s not that we don’t pray sometimes. It’s not that we don’t read the Bible sometimes, but we probably don’t
[17:59] It’s not that we don’t believe the right things about Jesus we have all those things [18:04] But we’re not remembering the gospel is sound familiar at all [18:08] We can be good people we can have knowledge of God [18:13] But we’re not remembering the gospel and so we need bold [18:18] reminders of the gospel that we’re supposed to be living for [18:22] The gospel that’s supposed to be changing our lives
[18:25] So why is it so easy to forget the gospel one thing is just life gets away from us [18:29] I think we kind of get that [18:31] But we need to acknowledge that more and we need to do stuff about that so life doesn’t get away from us [18:35] But I think there’s another reason [18:37] That we need to pay attention to why it’s so easy for us to forget the gospel [18:43] So the gospel message requires that we understand that the world as we see it is broken
[18:49] All right sin has fractured the world sin has separated us from God sin has broken creation [18:55] Everything we see in the world is not how it’s supposed to be those of us who know Jesus are being repaired [19:00] Okay, we’re becoming more like him [19:04] But even creation it groans for the fullness of things [19:08] Okay, the world is not how it’s meant to be it is broken and the problem that we run into is [19:15] It’s easy to forget the gospel because everything in modern American life just about and especially in the suburbs is
[19:23] Designed to make us think that nothing at all is broken [19:26] And this is a big problem for us [19:28] Because we get this picture in this idea that everything’s alright that we can just be happy [19:33] And comfortable and nice and that we’re safe [19:36] And that we can just drive to our work and drive to our stores and drive to our school and we come back in our car [19:41] And we rarely ever have to run into anyone or anything
[19:44] That looks broken on the outside [19:47] And this is a big problem for our souls because it’s not the truth of the world that we’re living in [19:53] We’ve got to understand that that’s a lie things are not okay [19:59] Right off the bat [20:01] Anytime we make one of our little trinkets more important than God. We’ve just defended the creator of the universe [20:06] So we’ve got that going against us
[20:09] We’re not safe. I have to tell you that one car accident [20:14] When doctor’s appointment gone wrong could let any of us know that we’re not safe [20:19] We can’t really be nice. We think that we can be but the Bible says that our good deeds are like filthy rags [20:26] before a holy God and
[20:31] The thing is is that we need the reminder of the gospel to tell us that everything’s broken because only when we see the world [20:37] For how it really is can we understand who Jesus is and what he really did? [20:43] That he’s God and that on the cross he repaired our relationship with God if we believe in him [20:49] And so Jesus starts to fix all these things, but we’ve got to understand the gospel in order to see how Jesus fixes that [20:56] because [20:57] Even though our lives aren’t okay, and they never will be we have Jesus’s life
[21:02] And so God sees his righteousness now not us and so we are okay. We now have the love of Jesus [21:09] Flowing through us we now actually can be nice because it’s Jesus’s niceness not our own coming through us [21:18] We don’t have to chase happiness in trinkets anymore [21:21] We’ve got joyness in Jesus, and we don’t have to worry about the illusion of safety because it’s still an illusion [21:28] But we’re on a mission with the God who created everything who sustains everything [21:33] So we can say with Paul that to live is Christ and to die is game
[21:39] We’ve got to have gospel reminders in our lives to understand the world is broken and to appreciate Jesus
[21:47] So how do we remember the gospel?
[21:52] With everything [21:53] Fighting around us to cause us to forget the gospel with life getting away from us [21:58] With the world set up to make us think that everything’s okay [22:02] When it’s not what do we do to remember the gospel because it’s important that we fight for this [22:07] And I think the answer is right here in the text of Romans 15. It’s right here in Paul’s example [22:11] We need constant bold reminders of the gospel of Jesus. We need reminders and examples
[22:17] That the gospel is supposed to drive us to service as Paul said [22:21] It’s supposed to drive us to work that he’s proud of the gospel is big and that’s the reason why at Village Church [22:27] We’re committed to getting up here every Sunday and giving you the gospel wherever we find it in Scripture [22:33] We’re gonna preach from Genesis to Revelation and we’re gonna mention the gospel whenever it comes up [22:39] And that’s gonna happen a lot and that’s just the way it’s gonna work and I can tell you that’s one way that we’re gonna [22:45] Remember the gospel. That’s our commitment to you
[22:48] But understand as a pastoral staff, that’s not easy [22:51] we’ve got to work hard to keep with that because [22:54] It’s so easy to get tired and to start to think that the people must want to hear something different now [22:59] They must get tired of us mentioning the gospel every single week [23:03] And so we look and we see these things that need to be addressed and then we decide oh well [23:07] We’ll just talk about this for a while instead
[23:10] And it happens don’t think it can’t happen here churches that had a zeal for the gospel five years later [23:16] Don’t sound much different than a dr. Phil episode. It happens all the time and it could happen here [23:22] and we need your help for it not to happen because [23:24] Not only do pastors get tired church people get whiny and they start to say things like all we ever talk about is the gospel [23:32] And we just want to go deeper [23:35] And yet we have to understand as a community. We have to agree with each other
[23:40] That the gospel is in fact the deepest thing we can ever pursue as a community [23:45] The gospel is the power in our life that changes us [23:49] The gospel is the power that changes other people the gospel is the thing that directs our life [23:54] Just to be on mission so we have to understand that the gospel is going deeper [23:59] And I’m not saying we don’t study the hard truths [24:02] I’m not saying we don’t study deep because we do Steve and I have both been to seminary other people on our core team
[24:08] Have been to seminary you don’t think we we don’t study hard of course we believe in that but understand if we don’t have [24:14] the gospel as the basis for why we study the gospel as the basis for [24:19] Why we go deeper it’s all meaningless [24:22] We’ve got to have the gospel and we’ve got to let the gospel keep growing us
[24:29] The only way that we’re gonna be able to keep accountable to this is to get in deep community [24:33] It’s something we preach all the time [24:35] And I just want to expand on that a little bit more here this morning because it’s so applicable [24:40] We’ve got to get in community with each other if we have any hope of remembering the gospel [24:45] Because Steve and I can stand up here [24:48] And we can talk till we’re blue in the face about the gospel
[24:51] But the truth is about an hour from now you’re all gonna be at lunch [24:53] And you’re not gonna remember much of what you just heard and that’s just how it happens and it happens to me [24:59] It happens to all of us [25:00] We’ve got to set up environments in our life where we’re in community with each other and we can talk about [25:06] These gospel ideas that get discussed on Sunday morning, and we can actually apply them to our lives not in generalizations [25:13] We can see how they really should be changing us because it’s it’s a lot different for me to say
[25:18] The gospel should change you then for you to get in a small group or just one-on-one with someone else and say [25:24] This is how the gospel needs to change me and give specifics and give names and give examples [25:31] That’s when this stuff starts to become real [25:34] That’s why we’ve got to be very intentional in our groups our community groups are gospel groups [25:38] And they’ve got to be we get together and we shoot the breeze a little bit [25:42] That’s not why we’re there we get together and we learn in knowledge of God
[25:47] But that’s not ultimately why we’re there we care for each other in our groups [25:52] But that’s not ultimately why we’re there even though that’s got to happen the reason that we’re there in our groups [25:58] With each other is to challenge each other to live this out to be on the mission of Jesus to let the gospel be big [26:06] We’ve got to realize which with each other [26:08] How big the gospel is being in close relationships with other people who are also committed to the gospel [26:15] Is really the best in almost the only way that we’re gonna stick with it
[26:20] That’s what I’ve experienced in my life. I’ve been saved [26:24] truly transformed by Jesus for about ten years now and [26:28] I’ll tell you for the first seven years of that I experienced what I talked about earlier [26:31] I experienced going weeks and months without thinking much about the gospel years at times [26:37] Even though I knew what was right and I knew what was good and I had all kinds of knowledge [26:42] I experienced that and it wasn’t till I got in the community of people that committed to each other
[26:47] We’re gonna remind each other of the gospel all the time that that started to change for me. I think it happened for you, too [26:55] I’ve got to understand that just like the Christians in Rome [26:59] That Paul wrote to almost 2,000 years ago. We can be genuinely good people and we can be full of all knowledge [27:06] The things of God but we still need to be reminded of the gospel because of the power that it has in our lives [27:14] can’t do anything else without the gospel it’s the mission of Jesus that guides our life and [27:19] Influences all the decisions that we make so we can’t outgrow the gospel
[27:22] We’ve got to get in this mindset where we’re letting the gospel grow us [27:27] As we do that we start to realize just how big it is and it starts to become bigger and bigger
[27:34] So this morning really I just want to ask one question of you this morning [27:39] Are you remembering the gospel and what I mean by that is the gospel constantly fresh to you? [27:45] Guiding your life and putting you on mission with God. Are you remembering how big the gospel is? [27:51] I hope that you’re growing in goodness and your knowledge of God. I hope you’re doing that [27:56] But are you doing that because of the gospel? [27:59] Does the gospel mean something to you can you this week?
[28:04] Identify things that you do differently because of the gospel if you can’t [28:09] You need to start thinking about that and you need to figure out what you need to do to change that
[28:14] Steve and I aren’t gonna stop talking about the gospel from up here. I can promise you that [28:19] But the thing is is we’re not doing it just to hear ourselves talk [28:24] We’re talking about the gospel because we really believe this is a life you can live we really believe [28:30] That you can get to a point at your life where you see the gospel as the driving force [28:35] Just like Paul your life is a service to the gospel wherever you are [28:40] Whatever your job you’re now working in whatever family you now have
[28:44] Not saying that all needs to change it might but that’s not what we’re saying, but we’re saying this life really is possible [28:51] And what’s more we believe you can change [28:55] That’s something that you’re gonna always hear at Village Church as we believe that you can change [29:00] We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think change was possible [29:04] So here’s the key you can’t try to do this alone if you’re sitting here, and you’re thinking yeah [29:09] I do need to figure out
[29:11] How the gospel needs to change in my life. I’m not remembering the gospel [29:15] You can’t do it alone. You’re gonna have to talk to someone don’t think you can just sit out there and just decide [29:20] I’m gonna change this week. It doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked before [29:24] It’s not gonna work now you got to talk to someone Steve [29:26] And I will be back there in the back come talk to us. Maybe take us out for coffee this week [29:31] Maybe this is the week you finally get in a community group a lot of you guys are in groups
[29:35] Maybe this is the week that you start to just be more honest with your group [29:39] Maybe this is the week when you get to community group [29:42] You’re not gonna generalize everything [29:45] You’re gonna actually talk about what’s really going on in your life this week [29:49] You’re gonna start to apply these things to it
[29:53] It is possible to live this life in the gospel [29:57] It really is possible to [30:00] Start to change because of Jesus and start to have new desires, and if you haven’t experienced that [30:08] How’s the time to do it don’t wait because your life will never be the same [30:12] Let’s pray [30:15] Father
[30:17] God help us to understand a big gospel [30:21] God help us to understand that we really can change every day. I just pray for each person here God [30:28] That reminders would come into our life that would help us to see how big the gospel is God [30:34] I pray for reminders that would help us to see that we need to change because of the gospel
[30:41] God I pray everyone here [30:44] Would be able to live in the power of the gospel father [30:48] And not because of anything that we’ve done, but God because you’ve already done everything
[30:54] God we pray all these things in your name