Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Not Ashamed of the Gospel | Romans
What does it mean to live boldly and unashamedly in your faith? Join us as we explore the transformative power of the gospel, sharing personal experiences of grace and redemption. This episode is filled with heartfelt stories from our recent church fishing and camping trip, highlighting the profound impact of fellowship, testimonies, and building relationships. From communal meals to campfire reflections, we recall moments that underscore the importance of supporting one another in faith while marveling at God’s magnificent creation.
Take a journey with us to the ancient city of Rome, where we connect the city's rich history with the timeless teachings of Paul. We recount a memorable family trip, drawing parallels between Paul's advice to early Christians and our call to live for the Kingdom of God today. Reflecting on Peter's transformation, we emphasize the significance of being unashamed of our faith and the power of personal testimony in sharing God’s work in our lives. As we kick off our new summer series on the Book of Romans, we encourage you to get involved in our community and build meaningful relationships through Life Groups.
Finally, we delve into the concepts of faith and salvation, discussing how belief in Jesus Christ grants us salvation and the importance of staying connected to Him to bear spiritual fruit. We explore Romans 1, highlighting the innate knowledge of God's existence perceived through creation and the importance of embracing truth and holiness. As we invite you to make a personal decision to follow Jesus. Tune in for an episode that promises inspiration, reflection, and a deeper understanding of living boldly in faith.
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I am not ashamed of the gospel, friends. I am not ashamed of the gospel. I've been overwhelmed by the grace of God in my life. I was thinking about the brokenness from which God called me out of and the things and the shambles that my life was in, and just thinking about how he loved me and he saw me exactly where I was and he called me out of and the things and the shambles that my life was in, and just thinking about how he loved me and he saw me exactly where I was and he called me out of that mess and he cleaned me off and he set me with a purpose and a plan for my life and he's given me the opportunity to share that same message of hope with other friends. I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the same for each of us that we would live with that kind of drive, that kind of passion to live this same message for others that we would not be ashamed of what God has done in us, that other people that would try to quiet that voice. They have nothing to say because they don't know the truth of what God has done in you. Friends, we are not ashamed of the gospel God has done in you. Friends, we are not ashamed of the gospel. It is one of these things that is unshakable in my heart that we would have this message for us today that is, when we're kicking off this new series called Romans that we would be those that say I am not ashamed of the gospel. Would you say amen to that? You know, as we stand and we look at these things, it's amazing because God gives you these awesome stories.
Speaker 1:And I just came back from spending several days with guys on the mountain. We had like 30 guys from the church go and be a part of a fishing camping trip and it was amazing to be up there where you're not melting I think people know what I'm talking about and it was one of these things where it was amazing and having this time with one, with another. And yes, it was fun to fish and yes, it's fun to camp, but it was really about that time with each other and it was having that opportunity to just spend time with another and build a relationship and share the story. And I'll tell you, it took everything but the kitchen sink to catch a fish, but we finally caught some fish. So we're thankful for that. It's amazing Caught some fish. You can also catch toddlers as long as you have snacks. I've learned that. I've learned that you can catch teenagers as long as you have a hammock. So you can catch all those things. You just have to be successful in what you're using to lure them. How many people know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 1:And so it was an amazing time we had together and you know it was more than just the fishing. It was more than just that. It was those times around the campfire and we had those moments getting to hear from different ones Victor and Daniel and different ones, gil that were sharing what God has done in their life and sharing a challenge to us on how we should be and what God is doing in their story and how we can take that and apply it to our story. And each one of these guys get to sit and to reflect and to hear the word of God. We get to spend meals together and hear different people's perspectives and pray over those meals together. And, man, such a powerful time building new friendships, new relationships with each other and having those moments together. Plus, it's always good whenever you're done so cooking food over a fire, anybody it's amazing.
Speaker 1:And so we had some amazing grub and the guys did such a great job in cooking for everybody, and so we had these mountaintop experiences and we're talking with one another about it and we're looking up at the sky and at the stars that are in the sky, and Pastor Angus and I were just talking as the lights were off and the fire kind of burned down and it was just there in a low, and so we're looking up at these amazing stars, the amazing creation that God had made, and we were thinking about how the God of creation, who hung all these stars in the sky, who knows where every single one of them is? He's the same God that loves you and he created you. He's the same God that knows you from your mother's womb. He knows the hairs on your head, he knows your plan and your purpose. He knows everything you've done mistakes and all and still loves you. It's the God who cares about you. The God of the universe cares about you, and we were talking about this with each other, just flabbergasted about a God that would do all these things, that would care about me and friends. That's the message I have for you as well today is that he cares about you. The God of creation, the God of the universe, cares about you. He cares about your story, he cares about where you come from and where you're going and what he has for you. He cares about you.
Speaker 1:And so we ask that question about being ashamed like, what am I ashamed of? And you start thinking about all your mistakes and all your errors and all that you've done, all your sin. Friends, it's not about those things, because as we bring those things to God, he forgives us of those things. It's the opposite. It's what am I going to do with what he's given me? Friends, I'm gonna live set apart unto God. I'm gonna live not ashamed of the gospel. I am not ashamed of the gospel. Say it with me. I am not ashamed of the gospel. Amen.
Speaker 1:We're glad you're here with us today at Cornerstone If we haven't met. My name is Jay Celeste and I have such an amazing opportunity of leading here at Cornerstone with a great team. I wanna encourage you to come and get connected to us. If you're a guest of ours that you would just get involved, let us know about it. We wanna meet with you. We have actually a party with the pastor today after service a great opportunity to connect.
Speaker 1:We are people very much who are in need of a savior. None of us is perfect. All of us need Jesus and we realize that and we know that, and so we see ourselves as following after him. We use this imagery of following after Jesus because of that very reason that none of us has arrived. All of us are still walking after Jesus and where he's leading us to go. And since that's true, then we collectively want to be more like Jesus. We love God, we make disciples, we reach the world, and we do that intentionally, and so that's why we do life through life groups. We do that throughout the week, throughout the city. We connect, we grow, we serve together. It's a way, a powerful way, for us to be intentional about our faith with God. How many people know it's easy to get busy and to forget sometimes to have a priority with your faith with God, and so that's why it's so important to have this kind of intentionality and this kind of focus on these things. We encourage you go be a part of Life Group, build a relationship with friends around you and let them encourage you as each one of us walks in our relationship towards God amen.
Speaker 1:Now we're looking at Romans and talking about what that is. I, amen. Now we're looking at Romans and talking about what that is. I'm going to ask you to turn in your Bible, your tablet, your phone this morning and highlight this piece of scripture. I want you to go back over it this week and let it speak to you. We're starting in Romans 1, chapter 1, verse 16. It says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Lord, we pray over your word today, thanking you in advance for all that you're going to do in hearts and minds today. Lord, we know that you're a God who loves us and is powerful and sees us right where we are in our circumstances. So we thank you for those things and sees us right where we are in our circumstances. So we thank you for those things, lord. We ask that you would make this come alive to us today, lord, that we would be changed more into your image. We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, amen. Now we're talking about Romans and starting off a new series here, and we're gonna have different voices sharing about the books of Romans as we go forward in our summer series.
Speaker 1:And Romans is interesting because Paul is writing to the church at Rome. He's talking to the power of his day, the political power of his day, about what it means to be the church as they live in the capital city. What it means to be the church as they live as citizens of Rome he himself being a citizen is they live as citizens of Rome, he himself being a citizen. It's very much as if we ourselves, as the American powers, speaking to us ourselves, as the American church, saying how we should live as set apart unto God. He's talking to the Christ followers saying listen, you belong to the kingdom of God, first and foremost, and you should live set apart under the kingdom of God. How many people know what I'm saying? And so he's addressing this and talking to them from this perspective. Now, if you've been to Rome and we've had an opportunity to be there and to walk the streets and things, it's amazing, it's breathtaking. And to see some of these old buildings that are thousands of years old and some of the ruins of previous things, it's amazing. You're kind of like, wow, this power that was here and kind of the remnants of it and walk through those streets and kind of take it all in.
Speaker 1:We were very blessed that when we were pastoring in Paris, france, we had a couple from our church that gave us some money to go to Rome and to experience it, and so we got a chance to go and to be there and we were just kind of reveling in it, having a great time. And our kids were young, and so we're walking with J-Vin and pushing Shiloh in a stroller, carrying her around, and it was a great time. And as we sat there we kind of waited for all the tourists to die off and to go their own separate ways. And then we kind of followed all the Italian people who emerged from work and from their houses to follow them to where they're eating. How many people know what I'm talking about? Like to figure it out. This is where we need to go.
Speaker 1:And so we followed them and we found this amazing pizzeria where they're doing the pizza over the fire in the oven and we're like this is the one. And so we went in and got some food and we were so excited it's like five euros for a pizza pie and we're just excited. We're talking about how great it is. And Celeste and I are like, oh, it's so good, it's so good. And then she's like Javen, isn't it good? He goes nah, I like Pizza Hut better. And we're like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we're not getting crucified in Rome. No, no, uh-uh, because you know people, italians and their food, man, it would have been the end of us. But you know, it was amazing to be there and you kind of take it in because you think about all the Romans in the day that we were there and thinking about all those Romans the days that Paul is writing to them and the word of God still applies, we're still under the same set of stars in that city, and it's amazing kind of thing to think about as we walk those roads and read this scripture talking to us today through the lens of Paul talking to the church in that day and in that context.
Speaker 1:So as we kind of come to this understanding, we start to look and see what is God speaking to the church in Rome there, and how is he speaking to us today here, in our situation? It picks up here in verse 16. It says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. And off this one sentence, this one piece, we could preach many, many, many messages, because it's such a powerful statement about faith and about each aspect of what it means. Here we are called to be those that are not ashamed of the gospel. That means that we identify with what God has done in our life and we give God praise. How many people know what I'm saying? Can you lift a hand right now and say thank you God, thank you God. We give God praise for who he is and what he's doing in our lives. It means we are not ashamed. Whenever we start talking about our identity in Christ, we can tell people yes, I believe in Jesus, I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
Speaker 1:One of the key figures that I love in scripture is Peter, and Peter is so bombastic. He's courageous, he's a bit crazy, right Still carrying a knife, doing all these things, walking out on the water to Jesus, amazing stories and then, at the same time, whenever it comes down and they're trying Jesus before all the Roman leaders, it's Peter who denies Christ. It's Peter who turns away and says I don't know Jesus, even cusses, I don't know him and then feels the shame of saying he didn't know Jesus, feels the shame of not identifying with Christ. Now again, when Jesus is resurrected, he comes and restores Peter back into relationship with himself. He's the one that brings him back into restoration. It's that same Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, that stands up boldly, not ashamed of the gospel, and says who Jesus Christ is under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Friends that's who we want to be is those who identify with the power, the story of what God has done in our lives and changes everything around us. See, people can argue with you about this and that and the other thing they can't argue about the story of what you've experienced in God. That's why it says that we will overcome, by the blood of the Lamb, the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and the word of your testimony, the story of what you've experienced in God. And so, as we look at this piece, we understand this from the very onset, saying I identify that, I'm not ashamed of this, I belong to Jesus, I belong to him and I'm a part of him and what he's doing for us. It also says this it's the power of God for salvation. It's this very thing.
Speaker 1:We know that we can't save ourselves, we can't earn our way out of it, we can't do enough good things, we can't complete enough pillars of faith to try to accomplish some kind of grace of God. It cannot happen, because what do you have to offer a holy God? Nothing. You have nothing, because we are unholy. What do you offer a holy God whenever you are unholy? You know, I've had conversations with friends across the world and you know it's cultural things.
Speaker 1:We're like. You know the way you should dress at church, or you should do this, or wear a head covering or not, wear a head covering, or a doily or not, or not a doily, or this or that. I'm like. What does your heart say to God Now? What do you look like on the outside? What does your heart say to God? See, because it's only our heart, through Jesus, that makes us righteous with God. It's not our righteousness, it's his righteousness, it's his forgiveness working in and through us. It's that we are called to be those that are connected to him and it's the salvation that we get. And what does it say? Go back to the scripture. It says that salvation is for everyone, for everyone, for everyone, who, what who believes. So it starts with this idea. So it starts with this idea of belief. It starts with this idea that, hey, if I believe Jesus is who he says he is, if I have faith to believe, then I can be one who is saved. It continues on here. It says to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, that we would be those that understand that this thing first.
Speaker 1:The whole first half of the Bible, the whole Old Testament, was talking to the people of God about how they should be set apart and holy as unto God. And we've learned all sorts of lessons through that process of what that means. The Old Testament speaking to us, and at the same time, last series in holy, we heard about how the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people. How the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people and that even in that day they were shocked that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles. The Gentiles means anyone who's not Jewish. So that means that you and I that are not Jewish, we get included in that one, which I'm very thankful for, and that means that since we're included, that it gets. We get expanded to us. We're not replacing God's people, we're included in what God is doing, we get grafted into his family.
Speaker 1:The scripture says it like this and Jesus charges us to be those that abide in him. It says to abide or to stay in him, to stay in relationship with him, because it's in that relationship that we will be connected to him. It talks about and gives imagery of this vine and branches. It says that he is the, that he is the vine and we are the branches. We need to be connected to him so the spiritual fruit can come out of our lives. Now, what happens to a branch whenever it's broken off the vine? It does it withers. You wouldn't expect to see new fruit come off a broken piece of branch, would you? And that's the case here, that we can't expect to see the work of the Spirit of God come out of a branch or out of a person's life that's not connected to him. So if we want to see those things happen, we want to see the character of God happen, then it has to be where we abide in Christ.
Speaker 1:The scripture continues and it says this. It says in verse 17,. For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith. For faith, it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. So this is what it's talking to us about is that we should be those that are living full of the faith of God. And what does that say? The faith of God is trusting in something that you cannot see. That's what it means to live by faith. I put my faith, my trust, my confidence in God, and so those, it says, that are righteous are living by faith. It means they're trusting God from glory to glory, or from faith, faith to faith. As we walk through situations, the Lord says I'll be with you, I will not forsake you. Okay, god, I trust you in what you've already shown yourself to do. I also trust you for the next thing I'm going through. I'm gonna trust you right here, in this next piece. And, lord, I'm gonna trust you not just for what I'm going through, but the things that are coming up. I'm going to trust you that I can hold your hand and walk through this next piece as well. How many people know what I'm saying by faith, through faith, from faith to faith.
Speaker 1:Faith, very much, is the currency of the kingdom of God. It means that if you're going to do anything in the kingdom of God and see these things happen, you have to do so by faith. Lord, I say I trust you. Holy Spirit, I say I trust you. So I'm going to change, not because someone else is telling me to change. I'm going to change because you are working in my life and tell me to change. It's by faith I'm going to change and see things change in my life. So it's the currency, it's faith I believe first and therefore it's the currency of how to do business in the kingdom of God, so to speak. The thing about currency as it works in the world today and man, you have to have the right currency to go to the right place and make something happen, don't you? You have to have the right currency to show up. You try to buy euros here in America. Ain't gonna work. If you're gonna have pounds and you're gonna go somewhere else, it's not gonna work. And you're going to do these things, it's just not going to work. You have to have the right currency and in the kingdom of God, that means faith. It's interesting because I think about this and sometimes I was joking jokingly. We'll talk about it this idea of gold.
Speaker 1:I was hanging out with Josiah and we were fishing together this weekend and he was across from me across the pond and we, all of us, kept throwing these five dollar lures into the water and they were breaking off on the rocks over and over $5, $5. We tie a new one on here's $5. Into the water broken. Into the water broken. It's like the way I treat golf balls. Buy a golf ball, okay, new golf ball. You know what I'm talking about. Over and over just gone. And so he started wading out in the water, started to see some of these things and he's like, oh, there's some lures right here. All of us started claiming them. Oh, those are probably my lures. Pick those up for me, will you? You know everybody's claiming lures. I mean, I had a bunch of lures out there. I'm like, hey, have you seen any gold bullion? That's my gold bull, definitely mine, whatever you see.
Speaker 1:And it's obviously a ridiculous joke, but the concept is this that, no matter where you go, gold will turn into whatever currency. That is so, by faith, that's what it is. It's the currency. Is that the utmost thing that everyone values? Maybe they don't value your currency in another country, they'll value gold. Someone will figure out how to turn your gold into that currency. How many people know what I'm saying, and so that's how it is, in faith, that we would see it as gold, as having that kind of value. Our faith in God is that kind of value, the highest value.
Speaker 1:Now, when we were missionaries, we had this opportunity to go and speak in lots of great churches and one of the churches that we were in we were there all through the Bay Area near San Francisco and all through East Bay and all in Sacramento preaching at a lot of great churches. They were getting behind the mission of God to go plant churches in Europe and then later in the Middle East. And we had this opportunity to go and to be there in the heart of San Francisco, in the tenderloin, at a mission church. And we knew that when you're talking about gold, you weren't going to find any there because the gold was not going to happen, because they had nothing to offer. And they're like, well, yeah, you can come, I don't know what's going to happen. I was like, listen, I appreciate the opportunity, nobody owes me anything.
Speaker 1:So we came and I was like thinking, I showed up and I saw who they're ministering to and the Tenderloin is notoriously a high crime area People with a lot of substance abuse. It's really tough and people were loving people, people were coming to Christ, having transformation happen, but they didn't have a lot of resources. And so we come and we share what God is doing and, man, it moves people's hearts. And the pastor's like, hey, we're going to take an offering for you. And I was like, keep it, man, you guys need it. You know what I mean. Like it's okay. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, we're going to take an offering. And so at the end of the service he's like, hey, you want to grab a sandwich? And I was like, oh, that'd be awesome.
Speaker 1:So we go and connect up and he says, hey, I got an offering for you. And he had an envelope. And I was like, no, you're not stealing the blessing from us, uh-uh. And so he handed the envelope over. I didn't think really much of it, you know. I was like this is what? Okay. So later I opened it up and inside was a small check for something. But also inside of that envelope was a gold coin.
Speaker 1:A person who was a homeless man had a pocket full of gold coins and put one of those gold coins into that offering so that we could go plant the church. See, friends, you never know where the gold is coming from. You never know the provision of God, in whose hands it's coming from. If I would have picked out of a room full of people, I wouldn't have picked him. But guess, what he had is something he had faith to believe in, the ability to give it. And so he, by faith, gave something of great value that has value anywhere in the world. And I was kind of shocked by that and it taught me a big lesson about trusting God from any kind of source, that God will look out for you. And it broke my heart and I cried about that. I was like Lord, thank you so much for looking after. We're trying to go plant a church. We're trying to do these things. You're using a man who doesn't have a home to give to the mission of God. Friends, by faith we'll see great things happen.
Speaker 1:It continues here in scripture and we start to look at it here as it says. It continues in Romans 1 18. It says for the and we start to look at it here as it says. It continues in Romans 1 18. It says for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth.
Speaker 1:Our challenge in the earlier scripture, the one right before it, is saying the righteous shall live by faith. Well, what makes us righteous? None of us is righteous, no, not one. We know that. And since that's true, then we need to be those that go to where the righteousness comes from, to live according to God's ways.
Speaker 1:Well, our current culture, much like the Roman culture that day, they didn't wanna have anything to do with righteousness. They wanted to live and do whatever they felt like doing Sounds like our culture, doesn't it? They didn't want to do the godly things. They didn't want to live a certain way, set apart. They wanted to do whatever they wanted to do, and if you started standing and talking about a standard of living for God, then they wanted to argue with you about what you were saying, because you were telling them that they can't do something. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:It's interesting how people are like you need to welcome everybody and agree with everybody, and what they believe. I'm like that's cool, and they're like but I believe this. They're like no, you can't believe that. I'm like wait, what you just did is just disagree with yourself. And they're like no, you can't do that I'm like no, I'm going to believe God. They're like no.
Speaker 1:And why is that? Because it says right here in this scripture that those who are ungodly, who have not embraced the truth of God, they themselves will only be ungodly and try to suppress the truth. And why is that? It's because they feel convicted by the Holy Spirit of the things and the choices they're making, Because they know that there's a holy God and they know that there's something that's different, even inside of who they are, even if they mentally are saying, oh, I don't believe Guess what friends, they know inside because they are a creation, they see the beauty of creation and they know there's a morality that comes from somebody that's not themselves. And so they're fighting so hard that everybody agree with them against the truth so that they can feel included, instead of turning to the truth and embracing the holiness of a righteous God.
Speaker 1:And it's a hard one. Each one of us, we have that fight inside of us. Each one of us want to do our own thing and not listen. Apparently, I'm the only one. Praise God, the Lord be with these people, bless them, keep them. No lightning, god, no lightning. Each one of us wants to do our own thing. We want to fight against that and God is trying to correct us in a way that we can understand, saying listen, I love you, I value you, and because I love and value you, I'm correcting you so that you can live my pathway, my way, the way of holiness, and not this broken system.
Speaker 1:When we start to continue to look at this scripture here, we see that it says what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. Friends, that's what revelation is. The revelation in the end of the Bible is the same thing. It's a revelation from God to us. In the same way, we see the spirit of God speaking to us with this kind of revelation, that God has shown it to mankind that he is here. It continues and says in Romans 1 20,. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Each one of us sees the creation that God has made, the beauty of what he has made, and we see that this week, as we were up at the mountain lake. You kind of see all those things, the trees and the water and the sky. And it's amazing. The same here in the desert man. You see the beautiful desert, you see all that God has done and the painted sky we have at the end of the night just amazing things that are happening. You see that there's a creator God that's there. It's his handiwork, it's his proof that he's amongst us, that he's working in and through us.
Speaker 1:It baffles me so often when I hear these very brilliant, very smart people who know all these intricacies of all this mathematical thing and they want to make all these kind of big jumps in their thought process about how things came to be and they're like, well, this happened, this happened, this happened. And then there was a, there was a bang and a thing. And I'm like, cool, what was before that? Where did all the things come from? And they're like, nope, there was a bang. I'm like, cool, cool, where did it come from? What about before that? And they're like, but the thing? And I'm like, no, I'm with you. God created the quark and the atom and he put it together and all the different pieces of it and he assembled that into you and me and gave us creativity and breathed life into us and set us apart from the animals. I'm with all that process that God made. What about you?
Speaker 1:Because they have faith, in some random chaos became order, versus a loving God who created. And it's interesting because both have faith. One, they have more faith than some Christians I've met and I'm like what? But we see God's handiwork over and over and over in the creation he's made, the systems that are built upon each other, each one of those reflecting the glory and the wonder of God man. I was just looking at some of these things as we were by the lake and looking at the beauty of the reflection of the sky and just all these things, and it was a breathtaking moment this week and I was just so thankful that the Lord, who painted all this and did all this, would care about me. He cares about you and he loves us so very much. The creator, god, who's a proof to us through all that he puts in motion.
Speaker 1:It continues here in scripture and it says this for, although they know God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, and they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. See, that's what happens, friends, whenever we stop having the mind of Christ, we just start circling in on ourselves. We end up having this thought process that doesn't include the loving God anymore, doesn't include our creator God, and it just gets driven into darkness. Because what does it say? Scripture says that Jesus is the light, the light of life and lights up the lives of men. And if that's true in John 1, the way that we understand it by faith then this is also true that the hearts of people will be dark without him. Think about the most brilliant minds. Most of the time we spend all that brilliancy on ways to extort or kill each other, not build each other up. Let the Lord help us that we would have the light of the gospel in our lives. It says in Romans 1, 22,.
Speaker 1:It says, claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. See, they stopped worshiping all the creator God. Instead, they wanted to put their hands on other things around them and start worshiping that stuff, even ourselves. As we've lived in Egypt, we had to see this. We saw this all the time and unfortunately it's so sad because this is amazing. Civilization built these great things. I've been in the middle of the pyramids and I've walked through the temples of Karnak and walked through these places and seen it with my own hands, put my hand on the wall where they put the chisel and do these things, all of this stuff, and they were worshiping it like things around them, worshiping this man as if he was God, and this woman as she was a God, and this bird as if it was a God. And those people are gone. Man, it broke my heart. I was like they're living for. They built all this great stuff for what? For what they were living after? This temporal stuff. And friends, we do the same. We do the same.
Speaker 1:We get so wrapped up in our plan and our process and our schedule that we start living for the little things we're doing around us instead of living for him, and we start living for the little G gods instead of living for God and we get our eyes off of him and into the stuff around us and, before we know it, our minds start to close in and it's no longer about the light of God in our lives, it's no longer about him with our eyes up towards him. It's about us, in our little world, worshiping the little g gods, worshiping the little g dots, friends, that we wouldn't fall into that trap, that we would be free of that garbage, that we would live a life that's eternally focused, because we're gonna have more than just this life. It goes in beyond the door called death. We have an eternal life in Christ for those that embrace him, for those that believe by faith, and so we need to be those that are living that way. Not the way of these people that are gone man what a shame but instead that we get to have this opportunity to say yes to God and to live for him.
Speaker 1:Romans 1, 24 says this therefore, god gave them up to the lusts of their hearts, to impurity, to the zoning of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen, say amen. What does it say? It says right here that he gave them up to the lusts of their hearts. They no longer were going after the plan of God that they had for him. He had set this out hey, marriage should be between a man and a woman and instead they cast off restraint and were doing whatever felt good to them and he was saying these things are not for you in these kinds of relationships, and jumping from sexuality to sexuality and these kinds of things, this is not the way to do it. He's saying because of this, I'll take my hand off of you and you will have what happens because you made those decisions.
Speaker 1:Friends, it's heartbreaking because people have exchanged the truth of God for a lie of what feels good in the moment. But here's the thing good in the moment, but here's the thing. We serve a gracious God who, though we've made mistakes, though we live in this mess, he still extends to us the opportunity to repent, to turn back to him, to have a relationship with him. He gives us that opportunity to say no and to turn out of that lifestyle and to say yes to God and to come to him and ask forgiveness in a new life. He loves anyone who's a sinner, just as he loves you. He loves them and died for them, just like he loves you and died for you.
Speaker 1:And so, friends, there's an opportunity for each one of us to have repentance and start a new life in Christ. That is the loving grace that we have in Jesus. It's an amazing thing because, even though we understand, even though he's correcting us, he's doing so because he loves us and he wants us to live a life that sits apart as unto him. He cares about you so very much. He loves you, and so let me encourage you in this, that you would not stay in your shame, stay in your old self and your brokenness, and when people ask, what are you ashamed of that, you don't have to identify with those mistakes, but instead you come to Jesus and say Lord, forgive me of all that I've done, of all my mistakes, by faith. I place my faith and trust in you. I ask you to come into my life to forgive me of my sins. I want to have a new life with you and when you do that, friends, you're no longer ashamed because you've experienced the grace of the gospel and, friends, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Would you say amen to that?
Speaker 1:Today we have this opportunity to respond To God. We already had friends today make a decision to follow Jesus. It's your opportunity to do the same. No one can make a decision for you. It's each and every person's decision to follow Jesus. Each one of us has to answer that question. Have you embraced Jesus, those of us who are Christ followers. That's exactly the decision we've made. We've said yes to Christ. We say Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. I invite you into my heart and life. I want to change my life forever that you would be the Lord of my life and I would live according to you. You know each one of us. We see what's happened whenever we've given our life to Christ.
Speaker 1:Jesus came into this world because he loved us that much and he took on the sin of the world, the mistakes of the world, and he took on that sin. He became the sacrifice for all people, for all time. He took on your mistakes and my mistakes. He took on our sin. He took on our ugliness. He took on our evil. He took it on himself, though he did nothing. He took it on himself and he paid for that once and for all. He loves you that much.
Speaker 1:Today you have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus, to invite him into your heart and life. The cross is a symbol of freedom for us, because the cross is a symbol where Jesus paid for the sin of mankind. He took all of the sin of the world upon himself and then he died as a sacrifice for us upon a cross, and with his death it paid for sin for all people. And so we, by faith, embrace Jesus and say Lord, I believe that you did this for me. I ask you forgive me, come into my life. It's changed everything for me, friends. It's changed everything. It's no longer sin, it's no longer shame, it's no longer guilt, it's no longer the mess, it's the grace and the love of God.
Speaker 1:Apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome. He says this because you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your day. It's your day to make a decision to follow Jesus, your day of salvation. I'm going to ask if everyone in the room would just stand right where you're at, just bow your heads. If you're online, you prepare your hearts for what God wants to do.
Speaker 1:His heads are bowed here in the room Believe very strongly. There are people right now battling in their heart trying to make a decision to live for Jesus. Friends, you can come as you are to him. He takes us right where we're at. He forgives us, as we ask him truthfully from our hearts. He changes us forever. If that's you, you'd like to make a decision to follow Jesus today or maybe you have made that decision in the past but you walked away from it. It's an opportunity to say yes to him. If that's you, heads are bowed here in the room. If you just raise your hand right where you're at say pastor, I wanna be included today in that prayer to say yes to Jesus, to invite him into my heart and life. Thank you, jesus. Thank you, jesus. See the hands that are there. See the hands there People making a decision for Jesus. See the hands here, friends online, making a decision for Jesus. Thank you, lord. Thank you Lord. Lord, we're so thankful. It's a simple prayer, friends, the one that we pray, and I ask everyone to pray it aloud together. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again, forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name. I pray Amen, amen. Friends, we rejoice with you making a decision to follow Jesus today. So many of you in the room making a decision, others online making a decision. You joined with others this morning that have already made that decision to follow Jesus. Such a powerful decision. I wanna encourage you in this that you would go and get some materials from us after service at our prayer area. We wanna put some things into your hand. If you're online, message us. We love to connect with you. Put some things in your hand, have a conversation about what it means to follow Jesus For all of us that already follow Christ. For all of us that already follow Christ, it's our opportunity to draw near to him, to not be ashamed of who we are in Christ, but instead, emboldened by the Spirit, to draw near to him for empowerment so that we can be used as a mouthpiece for his glory. Lord, we thank you so much for this word. We thank you, lord, how you speak to us. Lord, we thank you for the Apostle Paul. We thank you for him and his work in planting the church in Rome and, lord, for loving others in that day, lord, for bringing the word to them and then to us, lord, of how we're supposed to live as set apart, as unto God. Lord, we thank you for the mind of Christ that you give to us and so, lord, we ask for more of your empowerment by your Spirit. Holy Spirit, we thank you for empowering us, for pouring yourself out upon us, lord, how you've set us apart for good work and you want to do something through our lives. So, lord, now we come towards your altar, taking a step, lord, asking to grow closer to you. Lord, for more empowerment from you, lord, to take another decision, to say Jesus, have your way in me and in my life, and for today and for the season ahead. We thank you in advance for all these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2:Before you head out, we just wanna say that we're grateful you're here today. We're about to have party with the pastor. It's gonna take place in the hallway over here and if you have kids, go grab them first and come. But this is an opportunity for anyone who's new to the church. Maybe and come, but this is an opportunity for anyone who's new to the church. Maybe you've been coming for the last three months. We haven't had a chance to meet you yet. Any of our team we're all going to be in there and say hi to you, or, if you have been coming, but you're the kind that just kind of slips in and out and we don't get to meet you. We'd love to say hi. So there's some food in there.
Speaker 1:It's real quick, informal, but just come, stop by and say hi. Also, father's Day is coming up, so you need to make sure to honor your dad. Bring your dad to church. We're going to honor the dads on Father's Day. I got something small for them. It's going to be a powerful message. I'm really looking forward to it as we prepare for that. Before we go, let me pray this blessing over us today the Lord bless you and keep you, or make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, or lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. God, you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.