Paul's Three I Ams

Love that song, How Great Thou Art Quo grand estu in Portuguese.

But good evening.

It is so good to be back at Heritage Baptist Church.

And my name is Keith Putnam.

My wife Jamie, and our three children, Elena, Clayton and Silas.

They unfortunately are not with me.

They are back up in the frozen north in Illinois at our home church.

Our two oldest kids are in school this year and unable to travel

with me.

I'll be down here in Texas for the next several weeks, and so they're

unable to be with me.

But I just wanted to say thank you so much, church, for your faithfulness

over these years of support.

We were here in 2019, I believe, for a missions conference,

and at that time you all began to support us.

And we praise the Lord.

We arrived in Brazil in 2020, right before the pandemic started.

We were able to work with a veteran missionary for the first

two and a half years.

And then the Lord allowed us to start Victory Baptist Church in

August of.

Of 2020 in the city, a neighboring city of where we were,

city of Pinda Muyengaba.

And I know that's not necessarily a name that just rolls

off the tongue, but it is a town that the Lord has us in 180,000.

And we just so appreciate your prayers.

We so appreciate this church and your faithfulness.

And Pastor Crawford want to thank him certainly for the opportunity

to be here.

And I wish he was here, I could see him.

But certainly praying for his health to be restored.

I just want to mention real quick, we have a video we'll show

here in just a moment, but we do have on the back table here on

the as you're leaving the sanctuary there on the blue table,

our prayer cards.

These are updated cards, so you may have a different card.

You might have a rookie card.

Now, this is not baseball cards, so rookie cards don't mean

anything.

But we do have updated cards.

And on the front there's an updated picture.

When we were here last, we only had two kids.

Now we have three.

And on the back there's actually updated information as well

about where we're at, specific specifically to our town and specifically

to Victory Baptist Church.

And we're just so excited.

We've been on furlough since August.

Kids have been in school at our home church.

And then we'll be headed back in June and we going back to work

again at Victory Baptist Church.

Our assistant pastor Jonathan and his wife have been holding down

the fort since we've been gone and have done just a wonderful job.

Lord has blessed people, souls, saved People baptized and

the Lord has really blessed the growth of the church even while

we've been away.

We're excited to go back.

We're gonna be helping a different pastor start a work about

45 minutes from where we are currently located.

And we're not gonna be there with him on a day to day basis but

we will be supporting him logistically, financially and helping

with get the church off the ground.

He'll be starting in August so that'll be happening later this year.

And we're excited to start New Life Baptist Church in the neighboring

city where he's at of Casa Pava, a town of just about 90,000.

So we're excited.

Church.

Thank you.

So your prayers.

I know sometimes missionaries say thank you for your prayers that

it can just kind of be, you know, in one ear and out the other,

but we really do cover your prayers.

Those two letters that were read this evening, those are real

people and they have real needs and they both ministerially

people that need to be saved.

I was mentioning to several of the men of the church before just

of two men that are on my heart to be saved.

Men that good men but lost and their wives and some of their family

comes to church and that's a blessing.

Good men, I've witnessed to them several times but not saved.

And so we certainly we covet your prayers and I say that, I mean

that covet your prayers from the finance, from the spiritual aspect

of it and the spiritual warfare for our families, for our

wives, for my wife, not wives, my wife and for our children and

certainly for all the Lord is doing there.

But also we do so seriously so appreciate your continued financial

sacrifice so that we can stay on the field and serve the Lord.

And we've been there for the last five years.

And I just want to show you here now we have a.

It's a very brief video, 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

And so it's pretty quick but kind of gives you an idea of what

the Lord has allowed us to do working at Victory Baptist Church

in Pinda Muyengaba.

Let's go ahead and show the video.

We praise the Lord that we arrived on the field in February

of 2020.

We began working at New Life Baptist Church in Dawbaktay and were

able to be involved in ministry language school.

Simultaneously during our first term we began to pray and seek

the Lord's will about where we could start a church.

The Lord opened the door for us to begin to work in the neighboring

city of Pina Muyangaba In August of 2022 Pinamoegaba is a historic

city of just under 200,000 people.

Located in the heart of the valley of the Paraiba River.

It's a city that is still steeped in religion and even in occultism.

But we praise the Lord that the gospel light has begun to shine

at Victory Baptist Church.

We praise the Lord that we were able to secure a location in

March of 2022 and work began to make it ready for our launch date

of August 7, 2022.

Our desire is to turn this church over to a Brazilian pastor

as soon as possible.

In order to facilitate this, we are praying that the Lord would

allow us to secure the current location we're in that has ample

space for services, nurseries and classrooms.

Shortly after arriving and getting settled into our home, we

were able to begin language school.

Despite the pandemic closing down many of the language schools

in Brazil, we were able to study for nine months and finish

in December of 2012.

We were so thankful for this opportunity to help in ministry while

also acclimating to the culture.

During our first two years on the field, we were able to help in

various ministries.

At New Life Baptist Church, we were able to learn the culture as

well as help in ministry.

Keith was able to preach and help in the seminary.

We both were able to start a King's Kids program with the Wednesday

night kids class.

And I was able to be a Sunday school teacher and help in the nursery.

In August of 2025, brother Diego and his family will be planting

New Life Baptist Church in Casapaba.

We're anticipating how God will use them as they start this

church here in a neighboring city of just under 100,000 people.

Please be in prayer for them as well as the great need for church

planting here in this needy area of Brazil.

As we wrap up this first term.

We are so grateful for your continued prayer and support of our

family and ministry.

Thank you for the integral part that you all play in continuing

the work at Victory Baptist Church in Pina Muy Ngamma.

The souls saved, those that have been baptized and those that

have been discipled are fruit to your account.

We realize how much the world has changed since we arrived in Brazil,

but God is unchanging and his word is still true.

We're so thankful for your continued prayer and financial support

for the ministry to continue to go forward in Brazil at Victory

Baptist Church.

Amen.

Wonderful.

Again, that's just a very quick update about what the Lord

is doing there, but we're so excited to go back, get back home

in June and get back to work.

Victory Baptist Church.

Be able to start new Life.

Help start New Life Baptist church, just about 45 minutes away

from where we're at.

Our region is a region of just under two and a half million people,

and we're about halfway between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

And so I mentioned in the video, it is a very spiritually dark

place.

We are only about 30 minutes away from the largest Catholic church

outside of the Vatican.

And so it's a very religious place.

But when you begin to deal with people about biblical salvation,

when you begin even just biblical doctrine, there's a lot

of confusion.

One of my friends told me, he said, you know, the official religion

of Brazil, there is no official religion, but if there were,

it would be Catholicism.

But he said, the unofficial religion of Brazil is confusion.

And he says that, and it's true.

Because as you talk with people, there is such a mixture of.

Of belief and really a mixture of doctrinal error and heresy that

when you go to talk with people many times, there can be a

great.

A lot of confusion.

We understand that's just spiritual blindness, but we thank.

We're so thankful that the word of God is greater and the Holy

Spirit works in hearts, and it's been such a joy to see people

saved and baptized.

And so, church, thank you so much for the part that you all play

in allowing us to continue to work there in Brazil.

And as far as language goes, as far as culture goes, we are currently

still learning, but thankfully, we are fluent in Portuguese,

and the Lord has allowed us to just work there, and Lord has done

a wonderful work there, and we're excited to get back home.

If you do have any further questions, I'll be back by the table

after the service tonight.

But just want to say again, thank you so much to Pastor Crawford,

to this church, and you all for your faithfulness.

I know many of you work long hours, work hard, and you, you continue

to be a part of the missions local church and a missions program,

Faith Promise Missions, through your local church.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Let's go ahead, if we can now in this moment.

Let's go ahead to the book of Romans, Romans, chapter one.

And again, I want to say thank you, Pastor Crawford, for the opportunity

to be here and certainly the opportunity to preach.

I don't take it lightly that we have the opportunity to be here

and the opportunity to stand behind this pulpit and proclaim the

word of God.

And I always say it doesn't matter if we're here.

In Hazlett, Texas or in Pinda, Muyongahwa, the message is still

the same.

It's the power of God to everyone who believes.

It's the gospel of Jesus Christ, the death, burial and resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

And just talking, getting to meet and talk with Brother Stone

before.

And one of the things I said, isn't it amazing, the power of the

gospel.

And I thank God I was saved as a six year old boy.

I thank God I was born on a Sunday and the next Sunday I was

in church.

But I recognize that probably many in this room don't necessarily

have this testimony, that testimony.

But praise God, whatever age it was that you got saved, praise

God that the power of the gospel, the Holy Spirit did that

work, that new birth in your heart and thank God for salvation.

That's why we're here.

That's why I can come.

This Yankee from up near Chicago can come and, and feel at

home in your midst because we have a common blood, the blood of

Jesus Christ.

And what a wonderful thing it is to be able to have forgiveness

of sins.

And I know it's Sunday night, but I never, I'd be remiss if I didn't

say if you don't know for sure that heaven is your home and that

if you don't know for sure that your sins have been forgiven,

tonight would be a wonderful, a perfect night to make that decision,

to secure that decision.

Tonight we're going to look at the Apostle Paul and we're going

to look here In Romans, Chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Romans is probably one of the richest books in the Bible when it

comes to doctrine, when it comes to soteriology, when it comes

to salvation, when it comes to all of those things.

The book of Romans is rich when it comes to doctrine.

And we could look at this entire chapter and what a powerful

chapter.

Not only a powerful chapter, but what an insightful chapter for

the days in which we live.

If you read the second half of the first chapter here in Romans,

you'll find that it is a diagnostic on the world in which

we live.

You'll see it starts with ungratitude and it proceeds all the

way down to the basest of.

Basest of sins.

I know all sin is sin and in God's sight there is no difference

when it comes to a lie or, you know, any type of sin.

But church, can I remind you tonight that we live in a world where

the Gospel of Jesus Christ has.

The need for the Gospel has never been greater.

This evening I want to look at three verses in particular, we're

going to start here in verse number 14.

And we're going to look tonight at Paul's 3 I ams.

Now, there are many times in the Pauline epistles where he says,

I am.

We can think of that wonderful verse.

In fact, we'll look at it in a little while.

Galatians 2, 20.

I am crucified with Christ.

And that's a wonderful verse.

But I want to look tonight at these three verses, verses 14, 15

and 16.

And I very simply want to look at three I ams of Paul.

And I want to apply them to our lives this evening.

Let's go ahead and let's begin reading.

In verse number 14, the Bible says, Romans, chapter 1 and verse

Romans 1 · chapter mention

14.

14 I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both

to the wise and to the unwise.

So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you

that are at Rome also.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power

of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

To the Jew first and also to the Greek.

And I love these three verses here.

And he says three times we see Paul's declaration, I am.

And so this evening, for just a few moments, I want to look at

Paul's three I ams.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word.

And Lord, it is so good to be in a local church that has a heart

to reach the lost.

But not only a heart to reach the lost here in their own community

and a surrounding area, but a heart to reach the lost even across

the equator, the other side of the world.

Lord, I pray that this evening you would speak to our hearts.

Lord, I pray that your word would go forth with clarity.

I pray that it would go forth with boldness.

Lord, I pray that you would please speak to our hearts tonight.

I need to hear from you tonight.

Please, Father, I pray that you would have your will and your

way.

If there's someone here, Lord, that does not know you as their personal

savior, I pray that even tonight would be the night that they

trust you as their savior.

And Lord, those that are saved, Lord, I pray that you would

just please do a work in our hearts.

And I pray that you would challenge us in these three areas

that we're going to look tonight to be ready to proclaim the

gospel, the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, wherever we may be.

Lord, please have your will and your way in this moment.

Lord, please.

I pray that you'd Help me to say everything you want me to say

and nothing that I shouldn't.

May you please be honored and glorified as only as you can in the

midst.

Lord, here of us tonight, we love you.

We thank you for this opportunity.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

The Apostle Paul is writing to a church that he has not yet visited.

The Apostle Paul many times would send a letter back to a church

that he had either helped establish or was familiar with.

In the case of Colossians.

He was not there in Colossae to start that work.

That was Epaphras, who had been been chiefly responsible for

that work.

But the Apostle Paul's influence was great.

Of course, we know places like Thessalonica and places like Philippi.

He writes letters back to these churches sometimes mere months

after he had been there or sometimes years after he had been

there because he heard of a problem or because he heard of some,

or they needed some encouragement.

But in this case in the church of Rome, we understand that Paul

had yet not been to Rome.

And he's writing ahead.

And he's writing to a church that perhaps more than any other

church, of all the churches that he was affiliated with and influenced,

was a church that was mixed of Gentile and Jewish believers.

Now he's writing here to this church.

And it is a.

As I mentioned earlier, it is an extremely profound and rich and

deep book.

It is one of intense application, but it is also one of

great doctrinal meaning for us.

And he's riding ahead, being a freeborn Roman of impeccable Jewish

pedigree with vast Christian ministerial and theological experience.

No one is better equipped to address the issues and.

And the problems and the makeup of this church than the Apostle

Paul.

We can look here in the first chapter and we see that he identifies

himself simply, not as chiefly not as this great apostle of Jesus

Christ, although he certainly was that.

In verse one, he says that he is an apostle, but look at the word

chiefly that he uses to describe who he is.

He says, paul, servant and boy.

How we need to be reminded that it doesn't matter if you're

the pastor or simply.

And I don't say simply in a spiteful way.

I say that in a very.

In a very meaningful way, or simply the janitor.

There is no small place in the body of Christ.

There is no unimportant member and all of us ought to be servants.

Look what he says.

A servant of Jesus Christ.

So he's telling them he's shortly to come to Rome.

We understand that as Church history teaches us that it is at

Rome that Paul will ultimately lay down his life for the sake of

the gospel.

And it is exactly that gospel that Paul is addressing here in Romans,

a beautiful book.

And we see just in the three short verses that we read, we see

several key elements to what Paul will be writing about in this

book.

He addresses the Gospel, which is the good news of Jesus Christ.

He talks about the power of God that is the source of righteousness,

justice and judgment to come.

He talks about personal salvation, the power of God unto

salvation, personal salvation, the necessity of our soul.

He talks about personal belief, which is the prerequisite

for salvation.

And he talks about personal responsibility to the Jew first,

but not only to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

And of course, in that phrase, to the Jew and to the Greek, he is

referencing everybody.

So the Apostle Paul is taking up his pen once again in defense

of the Gospel.

And that ought to be our life.

It doesn't matter if you're called to be a missionary to a foreign

country or you're a cable installation technician.

Every single one of us.

Our life ought to be about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we see here in Paul's example, in these short verses that

we read, we see three times he says, I am.

And so this evening, for just a few moments, we're going to look

at three of Paul's I ams.

First of all, let's notice in verse number 14, he starts it off

very simply.

He says, I am debtor.

Now, that word debtor means that he owes a payment to someone.

Now notice what he says.

I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians.

Now he's writing Romans.

And the Romans were well known for being very high and mighty.

Not necessarily in the arts and not necessarily intellectually,

but they were known for being high and mighty when it comes to

government, when it comes to order, and when it comes to civilization.

The Romans gave us roads that still to this day exist and aqueducts

that still exist Europe today.

A lasting mark of over from over 2,000 years ago that show us

the strength of the Roman Empire.

But look what he says.

He says, I am debtor to the Greeks.

The Greeks were the ones responsible for giving, giving the

Western world.

We could say a Western philosophy, I'm not saying a Christian

philosophy, but a Western philosophy of democracy, of freedom.

But also notice what he says.

And to the barbarians, the barbarians were basically any tribe

that was uncouth in the minds of the Romans or uncouth in the minds

of the Greeks.

People Outside the bounds of civilization, People beyond the reaches

of where they were at in Rome.

Places that were pretty much uninhabited, except for someone that

we might consider savages, but in this time, they would be called

barbarians.

Now he says, I am debtor.

What does he mean by I am debtor?

Well, he's talking about the debt that he owes to preach the gospel

to every creature.

And we'll get in that in just a moment.

He was a debtor.

In other words, he had a responsibility to preach the gospel

not only to them in Rome, not only to the high and mighty Romans

that were located here in this sprawling metropolis that up until

this point was the greatest power that had ever existed in civilized

history.

But notice, he says, I have a debt to preach the gospel, not only

to you, but I have a debt to preach the gospel to the Greeks.

And I have a debt.

I have a debt to preach the gospel to the barbarians.

And we see later on, he says also to the Jew and to the Greek.

In other words, to all the world.

I have a responsibility to preach the gospel to every creature.

And we too church, have a responsibility to preach the gospel

to every creature.

But hold on, I am debtor.

What does he mean by that?

Again, in a literal interpretation application, he's

talking about the fact that he has a responsibility to preach the

gospel, but also Paul was debtor to many different people.

And what I mean by that, people that helped him along the

way.

You say, what do you mean by that?

Well, from the very outset of Paul's life and certainly his ministry,

we see that God used both saved and unsaved people to help

Paul along the way.

In Acts, chapter nine, it was a group of men, men that were going

with Paul to slay disciples and slay the church in Damascus.

Those men helped him.

The Bible says in Acts, chapter nine, verse number eight,

they helped him in the way.

He was blind and now he could not see, and so he had helped him

along the way.

Someone had to hold the ropes so he could get down out of the window.

In the same chapter, in verse 25, a Roman centurion, an unsaved

man, saved Paul's life as he's preaching in Jerusalem in Acts chapter

Acts 22 · chapter mention

22.

In Acts, chapter 23, his nephew thwarts a plot against the

Acts 23 · chapter mention

Judaizers that were trying to kill the apostle Paul.

They had made a covenant.

They would not eat until he was dead.

A barbarian chief, a man who was again had probably never even

heard of the gospel, never even heard of Jesus, probably didn't

even believe in God.

Gave them warmth and shelter on the island of Melita in Acts,

Acts 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28, aside from the countless others in Romans, chapter

Romans 16 · chapter mention

16 that you see listed.

And certainly Timothy and Luke and Silas and Barnabas and even John

Mark, who, yes, became profitable for the ministry.

And even, dare I say, Demas, who, yes, he forsook Paul and left

him.

But at one point, Demas even had helped Paul in the way.

So Paul was a debtor.

And, yes, his debt was to preach the gospel.

But can I remind you tonight, I know certainly in my life I've

had some help along the way.

No man is an island, and I was six years old when I got saved.

My dad led me to the Lord.

I'm thankful for my father, but, boy, I've had Sunday school

teachers and pastors and youth pastors and teachers and people in

the layman, in the church that have invested in me.

Hey, young person, you have many people here tonight that have

invested in you.

All of us have people that have invested in us.

And we are.

It would be ungrateful of us to simply think that we have no debt.

Certainly the greatest debt that we owe is to the Lord Jesus

Christ.

The fact that he came and he was born of a virgin and he lived

a perfect life, and then he laid down his life on the cross,

and then he took it up again three days later and three nights

later, and he's coming back.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says, I am debtor, but not only debtor to the Lord Jesus

Christ.

Not only debtor to preach the gospel to every creature, but a debtor

to those around him who had helped him out.

I'm thankful to you.

I'm a debtor to Heritage Baptist Church.

You have prayed for us and supported us so that we can go and

preach the gospel to places that you may never go or even heard

of.

Pinda Muyengaba.

How many of you had heard of Pinda Muyagaba before tonight?

Maybe if you've read our letters, maybe you have, but, you

know, it's not a place that you, you know, spending time on Google

Earth.

I want to see what's happening in Pinda.

Not much is happening in Pinda Muyingapa, but praise the Lord, we

are debtors.

But might I say this quickly that it is not a life of service

out of.

Oh, I have to, because I owe everybody.

No, no, no.

Not that at all.

It should be out of a debt of gratitude, out of a debt of love.

I love what the Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

15.

15 and verse number 10.

He said, but by the grace of God, I am what I am.

I'm nobody.

We're nobody.

But we serve a big God and a God that wants to use us.

I love what he said in Ephesians, chapter 3, verse number

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

8.

Unto me who am less.

Hold on.

Less than the least of all the saints.

Oh, Paul, you're just being, you know, falsely humble.

That's just undue self deprecation.

Not at all.

Paul knew who he was.

And Paul knew the grace of God that was working in his heart.

Paul knew the grace of God that had saved him and taken him

and changed his life completely.

And he says, I am debtor.

I have a debt of gratitude.

I have a debt of love.

I want to serve God.

I love what he says in First Corinthians, chapter 9, verse number

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

16.

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of.

For necessity is laid upon me.

Yea, woe is me if I preach not the gospel.

Church, can I remind you tonight our service is not.

Well, I have to.

Well, I have to go to Brazil.

Oh, I have to go soul.

Oh, I have to hand out a tract.

Oh, I have to be a witness.

No, no, no.

I want to be a witness.

I get to be a witness because I am debtor, debtor to every man

to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am debtor.

Verse number 14.

Both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, Both to the wise and

unwise.

It doesn't matter who it is.

They need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, verse number 15.

So as much as in me is I am ready.

I am debtor.

Number two.

I am ready.

I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome.

Also, Rome represented the political and really the financial

seat of power.

It's hard for us to understand just how influential Rome truly is.

We live in the United States of America, a place where people

are literally dying to still come into this country.

Love it or hate it, that's the country that we live in.

And we should be thankful for that.

But there are many countries where financial prosperity is enjoyed.

Rome was a place where there was no other place like Rome.

When it comes to financial prosperity, when it comes to political

order, Rome was the end, all be all.

And he says, I am ready to come.

I am ready.

Paul had a mind that was ready.

He was ready to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He was ready to evangelize.

In Acts, chapter 26.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

He was ready to stand before a King, a political appointee of Rome

and preach the gospel to King Agrippa.

But he also was ready to preach the gospel to a centurion

in Acts chapter 16, probably an uneducated man.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

A man centurions were, excuse me, not even a centurion, excuse

me, a prison guard.

Prison guards were not known for having their life together.

These were rough men, these were difficult men, these were very,

very mean men, if I could say.

And yet Paul was ready to evangelize.

But it didn't matter where he was, it didn't matter what situation

he was in, he was ready.

He said, I'm a debtor.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the Lord, and I owe a debt to everybody

that I meet to preach the gospel to them.

But not only do I have a debt to do that, I am ready to do that.

I love what the apostle Peter said.

He says, sanctify the Lord in your hearts and have what an answer

of reason, of the hope that lieth within you.

Church tonight, are you ready to preach the gospel?

You say, well, I'm here.

Amen.

I'm glad you're here tonight.

Thank you for your faithfulness.

But are you ready on a one on one situation?

Are you ready to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ?

You say, well, I don't want to offend that person.

You say, well, I don't know what that person needs.

Let me tell you what that person needs.

Every person needs a life changing, born again experience with

the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.

There is no other need that they need that is superior to salvation

of their soul.

We focus a lot of times on physical needs and we need to.

We cannot neglect the physical needs of people that they have.

But church, can I remind you tonight people can have the cleanest

water, people can have the best medical, can have the best financial

situation, can have the best housing arrangement, can have the

best of all of that and still die and go to hell.

But Paul says, I am ready.

He was ready to evangelize.

Not only was he ready to evangelize the lost, but he was ready

to encourage the saints in Acts, chapter 20, verse number seven.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

Won't take time to turn there.

But he's preaching and he's preaching long.

He must have been a good Baptist.

Don't worry, I will not be preaching till midnight like Paul

was.

But he was there till midnight preaching another time.

Bible tells us he's in Ephesus now and he's going, actually going

to Jerusalem.

Acts, chapter 20, verse 20.

Acts 20:20

He says, I kept back nothing that Was profitable unto you.

But I have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house

to house.

Can I just remind you tonight, church, that sometimes profitable

truths are uncomfortable truths.

Well, preacher, go get them.

Amen.

Preach.

We love to hear about the Gospel.

Amen.

And we should.

But sometimes preaching about sanctification kind of steps on our

toes.

Sometimes preaching about, boy, are you sure I really have to

be a vocal witness?

Can't I just kind of live a good life and hope that people notice?

No, no, no.

Jesus always confronted the people that he was met with.

The Apostle Paul was always proactive in his witness.

He says, I am ready.

He was ready to evangelize, but he was also ready to encourage.

Hey, can I remind you, church, that when we come together in a place

like this, yes, our primary goal is to worship the Lord Jesus

Christ and to sing and to all of those things, and certainly to

evangelize.

But we need to be encouraged.

We live in a world where it's very easy to get discouraged.

It doesn't matter who's in the White House, we can still get discouraged.

And we need.

You know what's encouraging?

It's not the stock prices.

It's not political action.

It's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It's the word of God that makes a difference.

He says, I am ready.

He was ready.

He says, look, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are

at Rome.

Also.

Paul was soon to appeal to Caesar.

In fact, Agrippa even says, you know, you would have been set

at liberty if you had not appealed.

The house appealed to Caesar, to Caesar, he will go.

The Apostle Paul was ready.

Let me ask you tonight, Christian, are you ready to preach

the gospel?

Do you know how to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to somebody?

I'm not saying you have to have a.

There's only one way.

There's many ways.

Do you have some Bible verses memorized?

Do you carry tracts on you to be able to give out to people that

you meet?

Do you have an opportunity, any opportunity that comes up, and

you can talk about the gospel?

Are you ready?

He says, I am debtor.

He had owed a debt of gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He owed a debt of gratitude to preach the gospel to every creature.

He owed a debt of gratitude to many people in his heart, in his

life, that had helped him along his way.

And he says, I am ready to preach the gospel.

But then look at verse number 16.

He was ready to do that.

He owed a debt of gratitude.

I am debtor.

I am ready.

And look at verse number 16, very simply, for I am not ashamed

of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My, how we need boldness in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can get really excited about our sports team.

Cowboys.

I don't know.

I'm a Bears fan.

Okay, so there you go.

That tells you all you need to know.

We can get really excited about our political party.

We can get really excited about hunting and fishing.

We can get really excited, ladies, about whatever it is that

you get excited.

I don't know.

Sewing, cooking.

I get excited about cooking.

I like to eat it.

Amen.

Barbecue.

There we go.

We can all agree on that one.

We like that.

We can get excited about all those things.

But look what he says.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hey, in this day and age, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not something

that you necessarily wanted to be putting up on a billboard.

Remember Paul Saul?

Yeah.

He was trying to kill people that believed the Gospel of Jesus

Christ.

And now here he is some 25 years later or so, and he's saying,

listen, I used to persecute the way.

I used to try to hail them, to bring them in and try to wreak havoc

on the church.

But now I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why?

Look what he says.

I am not ashamed.

For because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that

believeth.

To the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul realized the power of the gospel in his life.

I quoted it earlier, but I'll say it again.

The reason he was not ashamed is because he truly lived a life

that was crucified with Christ.

Galatians 2:20.

Galatians 2:20

I am.

There it is again.

I am crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless, I live.

Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

And the life which I now live in the flesh.

I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself

for me.

Paul wasn't just talking it, he was walking it.

He lived a life that was a crucified life.

Now think about that.

Being crucified with Christ.

Christ.

And what does that even mean?

Well, very quickly, literally, it's the same word that means to

crucify.

You say, wow, Keith, that's.

That's.

That's some deep study.

I know, but hang on, hang on, because that means something.

That means something we see in the word of God several times.

This word.

Matthew, chapter 27, verse 44, talks about that there were thieves

Matthew 27:44

crucified also with him.

They were on a cross on the side of Jesus Christ.

Now, they were not there because they were not bearing anyone's

sins except their own.

Jesus was on the cross bearing the sins of all men of all time.

And what a wonderful thing that he died.

And by the way, he didn't die.

He gave his life.

But that idea, the fact that I need to live a life, as it were,

on a cross.

Think about that.

A place of shame, a place of suffering, and not to get graphic,

but a place of complete exposure.

By the way, we try to clothe ourselves, and I mean spiritually.

With boy, we do this and we that.

But, boy, before God, we are completely.

God sees everything.

And the idea of being crucified with Christ is certainly

taking up our cross and bearing it.

But can I remind you day after day that we might live the life that

Christ wants us to live?

And I love what the apostle Paul writes, even right here in chapter

six.

He says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,

that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should

not serve sin.

The reason that we are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ is

because we're so busy trying to gratify our flesh.

In chapter six, he talks about the fact that sin should no longer

have dominion, it should no longer have sway over who we are.

Yes, we still are in this body.

But can I remind you tonight, that's not who I am.

I am saved.

I am justified.

I've been redeemed.

That's who I am in Jesus Christ.

I'm a new creature.

Old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

And for that reason, Paul could honestly stand and honestly

say to this church and to anyone who would ask him, I am not

ashamed.

Church, very simply, tonight, are we ashamed?

We get loud again.

I said earlier, we get loud about this, that or the other.

Baseball season is starting.

I'm a White Sox fan, so that tells you I won't be doing much cheering

this year.

But we're gonna try.

But we're gonna get real excited about the Rangers, the Astros,

or whoever you happen to like.

And we're gonna cheer them on, hopefully to a pennant and hopefully

to a World Series.

And then we clam up.

When it comes to the things of God, we're real good.

We're at a.

You know, at a.

At a block party or a barbecue.

And we're real good.

Talking shop about this, that or the other.

Talk about work, talk about family, talk.

Talking about hobbies, talking about sports, talking politics.

But the need, the greatest need that any person has, we clam

up because we're ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified

with Christ.

Nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

And by the way, Paul is stating something that had happened

in the past and it completely changes on a day to day basis the

decisions and the actions that I take.

Paul said, I am not ashamed.

He was not ashamed because he truly lived a life that was crucified.

His life was hid in Christ.

Colossians, chapter 3, verse 1 through 3 talk about the fact we

Colossians 3:1–3

put our affection on things above.

We get so caught up with things in this world that we don't

even understand.

Eternity is just a blink away.

Eternity is just one heartbeat away.

Say, oh, you're dramatizing.

That's just the reality of it.

And we have a short time, 30, 50, 60, 70, 90 years to live, which

seems like forever, but it's not.

And we forget that we only get one shot to impact eternity.

Right now Paul says, I am not ashamed.

Tonight church.

I am debtor.

I am debtor.

Who has helped you along in your way.

When was the last time you just said, hey, thank you for investment

in my life.

Hey, Pastor, thank you for preaching the word of God Sunday

after Sunday and Wednesday after Wednesday and study.

When's the last time you thanked one of the laymen?

When's the last time, young person, you thanked your mom or your

dad, or you thanked a Sunday school teacher or a school teacher

or a school principal for hey, thank you for the investment that

you're putting in my life.

But also, when was the last time you realized, I have a debt

to pay it forward.

I received the gospel, now it's my turn to pay it forward.

And then he says, I am ready.

Are you ready?

Are you ready to preach the gospel?

We can't preach it because we're not ready.

We're not in a state of readiness.

And then.

Are you ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

I am not ashamed.

Why?

I know what it did in my life and I want to see it happen in your

life.

Paul's three I ams, I am debtor, I am ready.

I am not ashamed.

Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for your word, Lord.

The simplicity of it is so, so profound, so impactful.

But Lord, so many times these, these things that are basic are the

very first things that we neglect.

We forget the debt of gratitude that we owe.

Not that we have to, but that we get to.

We are compelled.

The love of Christ constrain us.

Oh God, I pray that you would work in hearts tonight.

Help us to understand that we truly have a debt to preach the gospel

to any and all we come in contact with.

Father, tonight.

I pray that we would truly be ready.