WEBVTT 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:08.480 This podcast is presented to you by Pastor Jason and Liz Burns in Access Church in Lakeland and Bartow, Florida. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:11.439 For more information, visit Access.tv. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:13.279 Alright, I'm gonna jump into it. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:16.320 How many of you enjoyed our new series free people? 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:16.879 Come on. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:17.600 Anybody? 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:18.800 All right. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:23.280 Pastor Jason gave us some homework, and I hope you have been doing it next week. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:24.239 He will be checking. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:32.640 But he said Galatians is is six chapters, and to take some time and read them every week and just allow God to speak to you in this moment. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:35.679 So last week he started us off with Galatians chapter one. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:37.520 I'm gonna give you some insight into it. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:39.600 The first part of this is you gotta know the author. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:41.439 Who wrote Galatians? 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:42.960 It's this, it's Paul. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:52.399 Paul wrote most of the New Testament, and uh so we're gonna study a little bit about his life today and unpack what this understand what he was writing in this letter. 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:53.679 You gotta understand his audience. 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:57.039 His audience was to the Church of Galatians. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:58.560 It's the church of the Galatians. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:00.479 And and this is modern-day Turkey. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:04.560 This is churches that have started to spread out and do the work of the Lord. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:12.560 And so he's writing this letter to this uh group of Christians that are in this in this town, in this city, that are spreading the gospel. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.840 And so, what is our theme? 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:14.799 Our theme is this. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:22.799 This is this is uh the highlight of our series, the free people, is our our our our theme is this is there is freedom in Christ. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:29.359 I want to stop right there for a second because I think we can sometimes just read this and just gloss over and be like, man, that's great. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:30.079 Freedom. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:30.959 I love it. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:37.280 But I but I want you to understand that God is truly not didn't just die on that cross so that you can get to heaven one day. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:40.640 He died so that you can live and bring heaven here on earth. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:42.719 And that's what true freedom is all about. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:46.959 It's about getting excited that you're here, it's about getting excited that we get to worship the Lord. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:54.000 It's to get excited that we get to take part of this message and walk out of these four doors and help a broken world, right? 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:02.879 To show the world that that they need Jesus, that that all the things that the world has to offer means nothing unless we have more of Jesus. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:04.159 That is the gospel. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.200 That is the good news, and that is what we're here for. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.120 The gospel is good news. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:14.639 And I see too many times we come to church and we're like, man, I hope this good news affects me. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.520 I hope Pastor Jason gives another amazing word so I can walk out here feeling encouraged. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:21.360 No, the gospel is good news. 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:27.360 You can go home and encourage yourself in the Lord and to read that book of the Bible and to go through it and say, you know what? 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:29.840 I don't have to walk around with my shoulders slumped. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:34.800 I can have good news right here and right now and watch what God does in my life. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:35.759 I feel ready. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:36.800 I hope you're ready. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.199 I feel pumped for what God has got for us today. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:43.599 I want to recap two major things that Pastor Jason shared last week, and and this is a highlight. 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.919 This is something that we'll add upon, we'll build upon as we go through this series. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:49.520 But I want you to hear this. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:56.479 This is one of the major parts that Pastor Jason talked about last week is this Jesus plus nothing equals everything. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.039 I want you to wrestle with that thought. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:13.199 I want you to go home this week and wrestle with the idea of what have I added to the perfect good news of Jesus that has made me wrestle with this thought of maybe I'm not good enough to have this or I'm not good enough to be used by God. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:15.439 That is adding something to the gospel. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.360 The gospel plus nothing. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:21.039 Don't need any help, don't need any creativity, don't need anything. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.400 We just need the gospel to see what God can do in our lives. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:24.960 Amen? 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:27.280 He shared it this Ephesians chapter 2. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:28.319 I love this verse. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:29.680 This is a highlight verse. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:34.000 If you're new to your faith and you're like, how do I study or how do I read the word? 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.520 This is this is a perfect verse to meditate on and to read from. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.199 It says this, for it is by grace that you have been saved. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:41.680 I love that. 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:47.120 Not your good works, not your church attendance, not your tithing record, not how many missions trips you've been on. 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:51.759 All those things are great, but it's by his grace that you have been saved through faith. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.159 And it's not from it's not from yourselves, it's a gift of God. 00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:02.960 This week uh we we decided to kind of kick off the summer and uh we planned a little trip for my kids and my family. 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:09.439 And so the one thing I loved is we were gonna tell the kids where they were going, but we decided, come on, any good parent, you know where I'm going. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.639 We decided to kind of use it for behavior modification. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:17.120 We said, hey, we're we're gonna go on a trip, but you kind of have to earn this. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:21.040 Like, you hit your brother, we're gonna leave you at home, right? 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:27.839 If if if you don't listen, if you don't keep your room cleaned, we're gonna deep down my kids have gotten really smart. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.600 They know about grace and they know that I don't ever fall through with these punishments. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:35.040 Because my son would like do something, he'd be like, What? 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:36.240 You're still gonna take me. 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:37.519 I know you're gonna take me. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:41.199 And so I know so many times, like I tried to hold it above his heads. 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:42.560 Come on, North Licking, you know what I'm talking about. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:50.560 I tried to say, son, like, listen, I need you to get your stuff together, and because you might not make it to this trip, you might not get to go. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:55.519 And uh, we went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Naples, and oh my gosh, did they have a blast, right? 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:58.480 They got there, they they they ran around that place, they had so much fun. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.800 But but this, it was it was not by their works. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:06.879 I looked at my son at the finally when we got there, I was like, son, I want to let you know you didn't earn this trip this week. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:09.839 Like, you did absolutely nothing. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:15.279 And if babysitting didn't cost so much, I would follow through and have a babysitter come watch you. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:20.160 But I wanted to teach them that it wasn't by your works, like you didn't deserve this, but you got it. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.680 And I know we all laugh, but it's the same thing with our walk with Christ. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:31.680 We didn't do anything to deserve our perfect savior to die on that cross, but he did, and we get to receive it, we get to operate in it. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.000 That is the good news of the gospel. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:35.839 I want to take you down memory lane. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:40.800 For some of us, uh, we might might like have just experienced this. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:51.519 Maybe you have a kid, maybe, maybe, uh, maybe your kids just experienced it, maybe, maybe you could think back far enough to remember these days, but anybody remember this moment in your life or maybe your kids' life? 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:53.040 This is my cute little brody. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:06:02.240 It's a funny thing, I was trying to find photos of my kindergarten graduation, and I was finding them with my kids, and my son's like, Dad, like you didn't have a cell phone to like snap a photo? 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:13.680 And I'm like, son, like we were on the cusp of this thing called the car phone, and it cost like seven, at least my parents told me, it cost like seven dollars a minute, and so like we didn't have cameras to snap a photo. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.240 So I said, I'm gonna have to use your photo at church. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.120 Um, but remember this moment, remember kindergarten graduation? 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:24.959 Remember the moment where they they kind of they kind of get you and all your parents are there, they're taking photos and they're like so happy for you. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:26.720 They're like, oh, it's so cute, right? 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.560 But remember the question they asked you? 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.879 Hey, what do you want to be when you grow up? 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:33.920 I remember my son in this moment. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:35.199 I don't know where he gets it. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:42.079 Ever get the the kids' craft around Mother's Day or Father's Day where they answer questions about you and they're like, my daddy's an air private. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:43.040 And I'm like, no, I'm not. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:44.639 I I don't I don't fly airplanes. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.079 It's like where'd they come up with this? 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:48.720 My son answered that question on his kindergarten graduation. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:50.800 He says he wants to be an astronaut. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:52.800 I'm like, son, that's great. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:56.879 But first off, you can't even ride Guardians of the Galaxy at Disney. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:58.000 That's a big leap. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:06:59.439 Like, you're scared to death. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:03.279 To go from scared of roller coasters to going to space. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.920 God can do it and won't He do it, but maybe let's focus on baseball. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.480 But you remember those moments? 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:12.879 I think I think I said I wanted to be an astronaut. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:13.839 Oh my lord. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.600 I I never knew of this thing called a ladder. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:16.560 I hate heights. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:23.920 Um, I get really Pentecostal when I get up on the top of the ladder, like full on speaking in tugs, like Jesus take the wheel. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.879 Um it's it's it's so I I wasn't gonna be a firefighter. 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:28.079 It wasn't in my path. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.680 Um, remember this moment in your life? 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:31.360 Remember, remember your senior year? 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:33.040 See, this is the scary part, right? 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.240 Come on, am I speaking to anybody? 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.160 I know we had some graduators, graduation people. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.000 This is when you kind of have to figure it out. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.519 This isn't like, hey, I want to be a firefighter, I want to go to space. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:47.839 This is the moment where you're like, I've got to pay for gas that's maybe$7 tomorrow. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:49.600 Come on, let's all pray together. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.319 No, um, remember this moment? 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:54.160 You gotta figure it all out. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:08:00.720 You you you you've lived some life by this moment, you've you've accomplished some things, you've worked for that little piece of paper. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:01.759 How many of you still have it? 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:02.560 Come on, nobody? 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.399 Okay, mine didn't last the first move. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:06.639 Um, I promise you I graduated. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:12.639 Um, but but there's so many times in your life you you get to this point and and you're trying to figure out what you're gonna be. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:14.000 What am I gonna do? 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:20.800 I lived in a small town, and this is my photo from Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Florida, class of 08. 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:22.720 Ah, yeah, almost 20 years. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:23.680 Amazing. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:34.720 Um but this moment, I I lived in a small town, and every now and then I would run into somebody at the grocery store or run into somebody at the supermarket, and and and and we'd bounce back and we'd ask, you know, do the whole thing. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:35.840 Hey, how's life? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.200 How's the family? 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.720 Do you have any kids? 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.399 And then they asked this question Hey, what do you what do you do now? 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.639 I didn't live a crazy life in high school. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:45.360 I promise you. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.120 You're gonna ask my wife, you can ask we are child high school sweethearts. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:54.080 Like, I wasn't crazy, but I wasn't like like living out my faith. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:55.519 Anybody experienced that? 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:57.519 You you you kind of just blending in. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.240 You're not the one that was like praying for people in the hallway, but you weren't the one rolling joints in the bathroom. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.960 Like you you kind of just like you blended in. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.279 Come on, public high school, you get it. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:16.399 Um you just kind of lived a life, and so I remember the last confrontation I had with somebody, and they're like, hey, what do you do now? 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.080 And I'm like, oh, get ready for this one. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.360 I'm a pastor now. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:23.360 And I love dropping that on somebody's uh plate right there. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:32.240 Because then they're like, you know, sometimes they're expressing their story, they maybe slipping a couple choice words, and then when you say, I'm a pastor, they're like, I'm sorry. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:37.679 And I love that because they look at you like, oh, you are a pastor? 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:43.039 And I'm like, I think I might be offended, but I'm not. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:44.559 Like, that's great. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:10:05.039 And I think this moment right here, what what I just explained to you, that experience of looking back through your life, of looking back of how far you've come, looking back at the choices you've made, looking back at the decisions you've made, and having these moments of being, man, I don't think I'm where I thought I was gonna be, but thank God I'm where God has me right now. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.600 In one of these moments, Paul's getting ready to live out. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:16.639 I'm gonna continue in our series, and I'm I'm gonna take the second portion of Galatians, Galatians 1, and it's we're gonna go from verse 11 through 24. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:22.320 And and if I was to name this series or put a title, it'd be The Gospel Transforms Us. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.000 The Gospel Transforms Us. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:38.320 This is a portion of Paul's scripture where he's gonna begin to talk about his testimony, talk about the things he's done, talk about all this thing, not to boast and to pick himself up, but to give glory to the power of Jesus and what he did for us. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:40.240 If you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:46.000 When the gospel truly invades our life, it changes everything. 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:48.480 Like I want you to grasp to that. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:11:06.720 Like when the gospel of Jesus and who he is, and we're gonna dive into this because I think some of you think that you have to read all this scripture and all these things are great, but but when the gospel, the good news of who Jesus is, comes into your life, it changes everything from the inside out. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.240 Galatians chapter 1, if you're reading with me, starts off like this. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:18.159 He says in verse 11, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that is pre that I preach is not of human origin. 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.000 I didn't receive this from any man, nor was I taught it. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:26.159 Rather, I received it by a revelation from Jesus Christ. 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:27.919 This is so important here. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:32.799 I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:34.480 If you're still taking notes, write this down. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.879 The gospel gives us perfect instructions. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:53.600 If you're out there looking for how and what to do, I want to let you know that the Bible and what it says about Jesus and what it says about you is perfect instructions to handle everything you need to accomplish here on earth. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:12:01.360 I loved uh when we first, me and my wife first got married, we we've celebrated 14 years just recently, and uh man, won't he do it? 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.360 Um and uh they don't teach you this in school or church, right? 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:07.840 And uh how to be a husband, how to be a better man. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.159 Uh you just kind of figure it out and you look at the gospel, right? 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:10.799 Amen. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:21.840 Um, but but one thing I loved is is when we first got married, we we we lived this life of both living at home and our parents cooked for us, and so like growing up, it's like now we have to figure it out. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:37.279 Like, you gotta go to the grocery store and you gotta figure out all these things, and there's only so much frozen pizza and uh and you know mac and cheese that you can eat before you realize, hey, we're grown-ups, and we have this thing called a kitchen, and maybe we should use it. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:50.320 And uh, and so I I love one thing that the my parents did, and her parents did, is they they compiled a book, it's a cookbook, and everybody that came to a couple of her showers uh wrote their favorite recipes on index cards. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:59.840 And they began to just like put them all in this book, and and what they did is is on our uh wedding day, they gave it to us and they said, This will help you uh you know cook. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:01.440 And I'm like, thank God, right? 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:03.519 Is there instructional videos with this? 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.039 A QR code I can scan? 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:06.960 Um, and there was nothing, okay? 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:11.679 And so one thing that I loved was when me and M first started, we tried them all. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:19.039 And here's what you gotta understand if you don't know anything about us, is my wife M, she is by the book, okay? 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.960 If it says a pinch of salt, guess what's going in there? 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:24.320 A pinch of salt. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:24.799 Okay? 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:30.000 If she's gonna make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, guess what's going on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich? 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.320 Peanut butter and jelly, okay? 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.120 She she is by the book, okay? 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:37.440 Me, on the other hand, I'm a modifier. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.039 Come on, North Laken, you understand? 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:40.159 Barto, you're with me. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:40.960 Modifier, right? 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:50.960 How many people know in here that everything tastes better with just a little more butter, a little more salt, come on, and a little more garlic. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.159 Everything tastes better. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:53.279 Come on, you can't go wrong. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:57.519 If it says like a teaspoon or a tablespoon, I still don't know the difference. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:01.919 But one of the spoons, uh, it's it's open for interpretation, right? 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.519 It's like everything tastes better with another scoop of butter. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:10.320 I mean, obviously you could tell, that's why I wear the overshirt to cover the extra scoop of butter. 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:13.279 Um also offends me. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:18.399 Um, but one thing I realized is that sometimes it gets out of control. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.480 Sometimes I add too much, sometimes I over-modify. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:31.360 And at the beginning of our marriage, some of our silliest moments of arguments was M would say, my wife should be like, babe, sometimes you just do too much. 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:36.559 Sometimes you over-modify, sometimes it doesn't need more garlic. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:44.000 And she says, This, these people wrote these cards with exact specif specifications of what this is supposed to taste like. 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:47.679 And if you just stuck to the card, it would actually taste pretty good. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:54.240 Paul's writing this story and he is counteracting what people are trying to do to the gospel. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:57.279 The people are modifying, they're they're modifiers. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:04.480 These Judaizers are going, man, the gospel's great, but man, if you just did this and you do more of that, it could be even better. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:12.559 And Paul is writing this saying, hey, listen, the gospel is just perfect and as good as it's gonna get by itself. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.320 We don't need to do anything else to it, we don't need to add some more to it. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:23.120 Paul is fighting for the just the simplicity of how perfect and how good the gospel is. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:28.000 And see, here, this is what I want you to understand because Paul will echo this across all of his books. 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:36.399 He will echo this across all of his letters is by saying that we don't need a new gospel because we have a new generation. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.600 We don't need to add things or modify it. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.159 See, the world right now wants to modify things. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.159 The world wants to change what sin is and what sin isn't. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.600 The world wants to change what truth is and what truth isn't. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:53.279 The world wants to change what identity is and what it isn't. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.720 We want to change how to get to God and what salvation looks like. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:58.559 But can I tell you one thing today? 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.519 The gospel doesn't need to modify with culture. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.840 It doesn't need to change with culture. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:12.960 The gospel, the same gospel that happened 2,000 years ago, is the same gospel that's gonna transform your marriage, your finances, your kids, your prodigal son. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:14.240 We don't need to change it. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:21.919 The same cross still redeems, the same blood still heals, the same message still transforms life. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.159 Here's one thing you gotta understand. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:26.639 The power is not in our creativity. 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:31.759 The power of the gospel doesn't come with us going, man, this is this is a really good idea. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:35.840 I think I can, I think I can witness better, I can share better, I can do more of this. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:37.279 This is what I love about our church. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:39.039 We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.320 We're giving to you Jesus and letting Jesus reinvent your life. 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:44.720 That's the salvation message. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.720 We don't gotta think of new creative ways to present Jesus. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.360 We just present Jesus and let him do all the rest. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:52.960 That's what it's about. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:57.200 The power of the power is in the gospel itself. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:16:59.120 That's what it's all about. 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:14.640 Verse 13, as we continue reading, this is when Paul starts to talk about his life, he says, This for you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:24.960 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my father. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:25.839 This is important. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.359 We'll come back to this at the end. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:39.839 But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me, so that I might preach him among the Gentiles. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:43.680 My immediate response was not to consult with any human beings. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:52.559 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went to Arabia and later I returned to Damascus. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:54.640 If you're still taking notes with me, write this down. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.519 The gospel transforms our story. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:00.319 The gospel transforms our story. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:05.119 If if you read this at the beginning, he says, For for I was, I uh you heard about my life. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:20.000 You heard about the things that I've done, you've heard about the the ways I was uh zealous for the traditions of the God, like of the Bible and and of the ways I was I was persecuting church, and and by all metrics in his mind, he was successful. 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:22.720 Paul was successful in his mind. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:24.240 Paul was successful. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:29.279 He was doing the things that he was taught, he was doing the things that he thought were right. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.200 But how many of you know in your life you you could feel, right? 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:41.839 Underline the word feel, you can feel like you're doing all the things you're supposed to do and still feel empty and still feel lost. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.960 See, that's the idea, that's the that's the understanding. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:57.279 You can you can get to that point in life where you're walking into your graduation to grab your diploma and you did all the things to handle and to receive and to do the right things, but you can still feel lost and empty. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:18:59.680 And Paul's here, he says, I've done it all. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:00.960 I've done it all. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:07.680 I did everything that I knew that I was supposed to do, and yet I still needed something more. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:10.319 I love what it says in verse 15. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.799 It's when he had his but win God moment. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.799 He had this moment where he was like, I did everything right. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.160 And I feel like some of us are in here today and you're in that exact same place. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:27.680 I feel like some of us are sitting at one of our locations, and you're sitting here today going, I feel like I'm doing everything right. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.119 I went to next steps. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.799 I'm currently scrolling through the groups to try to find the group I want to get into. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:37.599 I'm doing everything right, but why do I still feel lost? 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.720 And the answer is this. 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:49.920 When do you sit back and realize of the story that God had in your life and what he did for you? 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:54.799 When did you when do you sit back and realize the but-win-god moment of your life? 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:56.160 This is what I want you to do. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:56.640 Just for a minute. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:06.160 We're gonna jump to it at the end, but I want you to, while we're finishing this thing up, to start to pinpoint that moment in your life of when you had a but-win-god moment. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.880 When did God show up here in your life and it changed everything for you? 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.240 Because that's your story. 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:17.920 And that is what God can use in you and through you. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:27.920 Verse 18, as we wrap up this portion of scripture, he says, this, and then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas, which is Peter. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:35.440 And I stayed with him for 15 days, and I saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord's brother. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:40.559 I assure you before God that I am writing to you, that what I'm writing to you is not a lie. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:48.880 Then I went to Assyria and Sislacalia, and I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:51.920 And this is a favorite part of this chapter. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:21:03.200 They only heard the report that the man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith that he once tried to destroy. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:04.799 What a testimony. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:06.240 Still taking notes. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:07.759 The last one, write this down. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:11.440 The gospel redefines our lives. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:18.880 After this conversion, word is starting to get out about Paul's transformation in his life. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:23.200 He's his whole life was been about persecuting the church. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:25.839 His his life has been about persecuting Christians. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.079 His his life has been about uh disrupting what Jesus came to do. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:46.960 There's there's even stories, if you go and read in Acts 7, I don't have it up for you, you could do some more homework, but there's stories that Peter or Paul being a part of disciples' deaths, and you got Stephen being stoned, and you got all these stories of Paul just radically doing things against the body of Christ. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:51.279 And now word has gotten around to the churches that Paul is now changed. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.359 His life is different. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:22:00.640 That the same man, I love that, that that the same man that once persecuted the very gospel that he's Now preaching. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:01.759 Can you imagine that? 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.200 Words getting around, Paul's coming, and people are freaking out. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:10.880 They're going, man, the same guy that persecuted the church, he's coming. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:19.519 I really hope, I really hope and pray that the message is true and that Paul's not just coming to destroy us again. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:30.720 See, one thing you got to realize is when God gets a hold of your life, the gospel right not only changes what we believe, it changes what we live for. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:35.839 It gives us the why to our lives. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:37.839 I get it. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:41.599 Some people come to church because they're searching for the why. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.119 Why am I here? 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:44.480 Why was I created? 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:55.279 And I think some of us have had so many moments in our life that have seen the ups and the downs, and we begin to sometimes blame God for the reasons why we're what where we're at. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.640 We have these moments where we're like, God, what is going on? 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:07.279 And and I just want you to realize that God can use your past to set somebody free in the future. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.559 I love what it says in verse 24. 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.519 This is like the climax of the whole story right here. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:19.279 He ends chapter one by saying this, and they praise God because of me. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.880 I think sometimes we read that and we go, man, Paul's, you know, Paul needs to be humbled. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.319 Look at what he's saying. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.960 That people are now following Christ because of him. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:32.400 No, Paul's not saying, look at me, I'm amazing. 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.599 What Paul is saying is, look at what God can do with somebody like me. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.680 I hear it all the time, and I think it's hilarious to me. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.160 So when people walk into a church and they go, Man, I you're a pastor, that's great. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.599 You must have lived this perfect life. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:52.480 If I walk in your church, the walls are gonna fall down. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:53.759 Come on. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.039 Let's at least give some credit to the engineers, right? 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:59.519 It's not gonna fall down. 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:07.359 But people like talk about their lives as if like like this free gift that was given to us is is is no longer free. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:12.640 That the things that I've done in life is that disqualifies me for what God has given to me. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:19.599 And we get to this point where we're like, God, if if if you are so good and you are so great, then why can't you take this from my life? 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:27.279 Can you take this stuff from my life and why can't you rewrite my past? 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:32.960 Why can't you take some of the most painful moments of my life and erase them from my memories? 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:36.799 Why can't you erase the things that I did away from your life? 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:38.720 And I think I it was the cutest moment. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:45.200 I had this moment with somebody who's getting baptized, and they're just like, I can't wait to go under and forget about all the bad things I did in my life. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:48.480 And I'm like, oh, it's not how it works. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:52.640 But I get the heart behind it. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:25:05.200 Because sometimes, like when I showed that photo of graduation, some of you in here were inspired, some of you remembered how you were valedictorian or captain of the football team, and some of you remember, man, that's it. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:09.680 That's where I had my 4.0, and some of you, that's the exact opposite. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.279 Some of you barely remember graduating. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:16.720 Some of you, this brings up some of the darkest moments of your life. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:25.920 Some of you remember having some of the worst decisions that catapulted you into addictions or catapulted you into the wrong relationship or catapulted you into something wrong. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:31.599 And when you see photos like this, you you begin to think back on all the bad in your life. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.480 But I love what Paul does. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:38.000 Paul doesn't shy away from his past. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:42.799 Paul does the exact opposite. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:54.400 Paul will begin to speak over his past, not because he's ashamed of it, because he realizes that there's power in showing people that broken people can be used by God. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:56.079 Like, hear me out. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:58.559 Paul wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:01.519 Paul could have erased all the bad things. 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:04.480 Paul had had had authorship and writership. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:12.720 He could have gone against the will of God and took out portions of where he had Stephen stoned and had all these things happen and where he persecuted the church. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:24.160 And he could have he could have written his story so inspiring about all the things that he's done and all the amazing things he did, but yet he chose to talk about his past in almost every letter he wrote. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:31.200 In 1 Timothy, he he even says this: he says, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:34.720 Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:38.640 And listen to what he says about himself of whom I'm the worst. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:41.920 Does that sound like a man who's trying to hide from his past? 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:46.960 Does that sound like a man who's so ashamed of what he's done that he's trying to run away from it? 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:52.720 No, he's embraced his past because it shows God's power in his life. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.279 He's not this. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.759 This is this this next verse, it says this. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:01.359 He says in Romans, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel. 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:04.400 I'm not ashamed of what Jesus has done in my life. 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:11.680 I'm not ashamed of the things because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:13.599 That's everybody. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.519 You know what God wants to do with your life? 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:24.480 Is to use the broken pieces that you're trying to hide to bring freedom to someone else's life. 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:27.680 I get it. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:32.640 We had someone a couple weeks ago in our series about about our minds. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:43.759 We had someone run out of the room because of dealing with trauma in their lives, and and and I want to tell them, I'm like, listen, there's things in our past that aren't ever gonna go away. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:47.920 There's moments that you can't just go undo. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:53.839 There's not there's decisions and things in your life that that you can't go back and say, I want to erase these things. 00:27:53.920 --> 00:28:06.640 But what we can do is we can take the power back from our past and apply it to our life and our future, and we can say, I'm not ashamed of my past because it gives power and glory to God who can change everything. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:21.279 I want to see people begin to talk about the stuff they've gone through, begin to talk about the things that they've done so that we can see whole generations of kids not have to go through the same thing you went through. 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.680 My grandpa said this all the time. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:28.559 He used to tell me, he goes, What one generation will do in moderation, the next one will do in excess. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:34.000 So we have the power to see what they do in excess. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.480 Are we gonna help them proclaim the gospel, proclaim the good news of Jesus? 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:42.079 Are we gonna have them proclaim who God is and what he has power to do? 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:48.160 Or are we gonna we're gonna just replicate an angry dad, a drunk dad, an abusive family? 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.799 Are we gonna replicate this so our kids in the next generation can just keep doing it? 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:55.519 Are we gonna say, no, I'm not ashamed of the gospel? 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.960 I'm not ashamed of what my life was before Jesus. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:07.119 And I'm gonna talk about what he's done because here's the thing the gospel does not just improve us, it transforms us. 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:12.559