Not Ashamed

that's good brothers thank you so much for sharing that if you have your bibles i want you to turn to

romans chapter one romans chapter one it's been estimated that 90 of the news is negative

we seem to be drawn to negative news bad news as a matter of fact the industry knows that

they know that bad news is much more likely to catch someone's eye than good news

and a newspaper a few years ago advertised that for one day it was going to share only good news

and uh they did and two-thirds less readers wrote it that day you may be like uh alice roosevelt

longworth she's teddy's daughter and uh she was somewhat scandalous and she said one time she

said if you can't say something nice about someone then come sit right next to me

we love the spilled tea we love the bad stuff we love the negative

well i got news for you my friend i didn't come share negative this morning i come share good news

i've got some good news to share with you romans chapter one verse 16 says for i am 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 the word gospel there means good news and i want to be clear this morning about what good

news is because so often people throw that word gospel around they'll want you to really believe

about what they tell you and they'll say that's the gospel truth and they might they may not be talking

at all about the gospel we need to be careful about what we call the gospel truth so let me tell you what

the gospel truth is the gospel truth the good news is that jesus lived a sinless life that he died on the cross

as a sacrifice for us sinners and he rose again to proclaim that all who believe in him

and confess him shall be saved and inherit eternal life and that changes your day to day

from the first day because the holy spirit of god enters into our lives and empowers us to face the

struggles that we deal with whether they be inward struggles or whether they be outward struggles we

have a new power within us that word there that paul refers to is dunamis where we get our word

dynamite from it speaks of the might of the holy spirit of god entering into our life and that changes us for

all of eternity not only allows us to avoid hell which we all deserve and to go to heaven which we will

inherit and spend eternity with the lord now my friend that's the gospel nothing else is the gospel

that's the gospel and it's the same gospel for everyone and it's offered to everyone romans 10 13

says for everyone who calls upon the name of the lord shall be saved second peter chapter 3 verse 9 says

2 Peter 3:9

the lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing

that any should perish but that all should reach repentance jesus died so you could be saved and be

clear if that strikes you as something you need to do don't be fooled you didn't come up with that on

your own that didn't rise up within you god initiates any desire that you have for him he gives us that we

can't come up with that we are spiritually dead in our transgressions and sins is what scripture says

unless the lord initiates that and and when he does we have the responsibility to respond to that god

enables and we respond and we better pay attention because verse 10 of second peter chapter 3 says

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

but the day of the lord will be will come like a thief my friend i got news for you jesus is coming soon

and uh he's been coming soon since he ascended quite honestly uh he uh when you think about the scope of

eternity it's immediate regardless of what day it is but we don't know when we just need to be ready

some people will try to tell you they know when i got news for you jesus said they ain't gonna know

they don't know he'll come like a thief in the night so we need to be ready whenever heart settled

lives committed i'm not putting pressure on you jesus warns us in parables again and again

that he shares that one day it will forever be too late and you need to be ready before it comes

and i got good news for you it ain't too late right now it ain't too late right now if you don't know

the lord come to him today come to him as you are and he'll make you to be what he would have you

to be don't wait until you get it all worked out because i got news for you you're not going to get

it all worked out he's made us dependent upon him and so we need to we need to make sure that we lean

upon him and if you're a christian we need not be ashamed of what christ has done for us don't ever

back off the necessity of the cross of christ never let what he did for us leave our minds leave our

conscience leave our day keep it ever before you and one way we do that instructed by jesus himself

is we do that by approaching the lord's table and remembering how he spared his body

and how he shed his blood in the last night that jesus spent with his disciples before his crucifixion

right before he went to the garden and was arrested and then tried and then killed he gathered

with them in an upper room and he shared with them a meal and he started that meal with something that is

actually to do in remembrance of how he fulfills old testament prophecy as well as how he fulfills the

whole old testament sacrificial system paul records it this way in first corinthians 11 verse 23 he said

1 Corinthians 11:23

for i received from the lord what i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the night in which he was

betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you

do this in remembrance of me in the same way he also took the cup after supper saying this cup

is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as

you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes he tells us to do that

in remembrance of him and i want you to notice how he does it he begins by giving thanks if you're a child

of god today and you've been saved by faith in christ you have got a lot to be thankful for

you and i have a lot to be thankful for and we need to pause and we need to give thanks before taking part

in this supper we also ought to pause and do more than that paul continues that that passage by saying in verse 27

whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty

concerning the body and blood of the lord let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink

of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on

himself so in other words not only are we also not only are we to give thanks but we also need to be

right with the lord or if we're not this supper does more damage to us than good he goes on to say

that it could do a lot of damage and i'm not going to get into that but i'm just telling you you need to

be right with the lord when you take it so give thanks get right and worship and remember during the supper

why we take it we have a time of reflection and an invitation for prayer for salvation for public confession

of faith before we ever take the lord's supper and i do that on purpose to give you pause an opportunity

to get what's right what's wrong right with the lord take advantage of that opportunity and then as we take

and eat that bread ponder on how he gave his life for us he gave his life for you it was personal

it is personal and the cup it's called the cup in first corinthians 11 because that cup

represented what old testament prophecy spoke of about the wrath of god and the wrath of god was often

described as the cup of god's wrath and how when you drank down the wrath of god the horror that you face

jesus asked in the garden if it was the father's will to let the cup pass

it was not that he didn't want to go to the cross it was that he dreaded taking on the wrath of god for all

the sin of the world it was the cup

but it was not to be he could not let that cup pass because without taking on the cup of god's wrath

without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin so as we drink thank god for his shed blood

as he became the blood sacrifice that fulfills thousands of animal sacrifices and rivers of blood

that flowed out of that temple before he ever came to the cross as the song says thank you lord for the blood

blood applied what we need to do is pause and say lord i pause to remember what you've done for me

and i commit my life to live in response to the opportunity that you've given me in christ

i'm going to give you time to do that this morning but i want you to keep something in mind i want you

to know this we're not mourning the dead today we're celebrating the living lord and i want to give

thanks to him with all of my life with every head bow and every eye closed i want to encourage you to

take advantage of this opportunity to pause and reflect and get things right

it's always amazes me when people get baptized how it works in the lives of other people

i know that so many lives will be affected by these who've been obedient to baptism

we may see that one day we may never see it but we'll see it in eternity as people are affected by

people's obedience if you're here this morning and you've never received the lord jesus as your

personal lord and savior you've never asked for giving and cleansing to come into your life i want

you to know today's the salvation the day of salvation he'll meet you where you are he'll change

your life and i encourage you to come share that with me as we stand and sing in just a moment

maybe you're here and you have done that but you've never been baptized as a believer

and uh that struck a chord with you today you want to come and proudly proclaim your faith and

prepare for baptism at a future date in fact the lord's leading you do that you come i'll guide you in

that process maybe god's drawing you to first baptist church don't let the events of this morning distract

you from doing exactly what god's told you to do i encourage you to be obedient and follow the lord as he

leads you i'll guide you in that process but for all of us folks we need to allow this time to not be

one where we sing through a song but instead one that we reflect upon our own life what is it in our

life that is a hindrance in our walk with god what it needs to be removed in our life today confess that

to the lord and come to this table clean and if god reveals sin in your life that you're not willing to

walk away from then be obedient do what paul advised us to do not take part in this

until we're right with the lord it's not about just participation it's about making sure we do it in a

biblical fashion heavenly father work and move in our midst right now oh god i pray lead us lord to

follow you and it's only in christ's name that we pray amen