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REACH, GATHER, GROW

Reach - Romans Road

John Carter · Sunday, 7 September 2025 · Romans 3:10-18; 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 10:13 · 39:53 · 5,646 words

Romans S20 · 3:10-18; 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 10:13 Flushing

There is no public page for this message yet — the transcript below is the whole of it.

The sermon unpacks the church’s mission to reach the lost, examining Paul’s anguish in Romans 9 as he longs for his people to know Christ. It shows that God desires all people to be saved and calls believers to share the good news of Jesus with genuine love. Listeners are challenged to examine their own burden for those who do not know the Lord and to respond by going, making disciples, and being ambassadors of reconciliation. The message encourages a personal, authentic witness that reflects God’s love to everyone.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

command 19 tattooed 7 disciple 16 doubt 12 anguish 9 sorrow 10 reach 14 mission 10 heart 27 lost 12 share 15 listen 19

Topics

The Gospel 5 The Flesh 2 Prayer 2 The Holy Spirit 1 Obedience 1 Conscience 1 Sanctification 1 Love 1 Faith 1

Scripture referenced 38

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Romans 9 2:13 Romans 9 2:18 Romans 9 3:57 Matthew 28 4:06 Romans 9:10-16 4:18 Romans 9 5:27 Romans 9:2-3 5:47 Romans 9:1 6:38 Romans 9:2 6:44 Romans 9:3 7:02 Romans 9:2 9:42 Romans 9:4 9:55 2 Peter 3 11:34 2 Peter 3:9 11:35 2 Peter 3:9 11:37 Romans 1 12:41 Luke 19 14:09 Luke 19:41 14:11 Luke 19:41 14:13 1 Timothy 2 14:52 Romans 1:4 15:09 Romans 9 15:26 Matthew 28 17:40 Matthew 28 17:46 Matthew 28:17 17:50 Matthew 28 17:52 Matthew 28:17 17:57 Romans 9:19 18:39 Romans 9:19 18:51 Romans 1 23:55 Romans 1:14 23:57 Romans 1 23:59 Romans 1:14 24:03 Romans 1:15 24:38 Romans 15 26:40 Romans 15:20 26:42 Romans 9:4 30:16 John 13 36:47

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

Pre-service announcement — 9 lines, 0:44. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

Hey, everyone. My name is Debbie, and thanks for checking out this message today.

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Thanks again for joining us, and we hope you are blessed by today's message.

Good morning, everyone. How are you this morning?

I love the great. Are we good this morning? Are we all right?

I'm going to be honest. My head's a little all over the place.

I think my ADD's kicking in a little bit.

It's all right. We'll get through it.

If you walked in, hopefully you received one of these or were handed one of these,

and if you didn't get one,

I just want to remind you that if you didn't get one of these,

I just want to remind you that if you didn't get one of these,

I just want to remind you that if you didn't get one of these,

I just want to encourage you to grab one of these.

The guest service desk will have them there.

This is just a simple thing we want to give to you.

We're going to be walking through the mission of the church for the next three weeks,

why we do what we do as the church.

And this is what we're going to talk about today is why we reach the lost,

why we share the good news of Jesus to people who don't know it.

And this is just a simple help, a kind of a roadmap used often within the church

to help you navigate conversations.

And so we want to give this to you.

Not as something you would hand out to somebody,

but something that you would keep.

Maybe it's in your Bible.

Maybe you put it in your phone.

Maybe you have it in your car to just help you when you're engaging in conversations with people

to know where to walk them through in sharing the gospel.

So I want to make sure you're aware of having this and you know what this is for.

You can hand it out, I suppose.

It's very clear to someone that doesn't know that they can go and examine the scriptures with that

and learn about who Jesus is.

So I just want to make sure you're aware of that.

If you have your Bibles, open them to Romans chapter 9.

Romans chapter 9 is where we're going to begin this morning.

I just got to ask you something.

You guys ever lose anything and like the rest of the world just shuts out of your mind?

I don't know.

It might be your keys.

It could be your wallet.

Probably your phone.

Like that's a really serious thing we carry around nowadays.

Like lose the phone and man, nothing else in this world matters, right?

Like you're like, I can't, the schedule doesn't matter.

I can't go anywhere.

I got to find it.

How about if, and I don't know, like listen, I know sometimes as parents we're ashamed to admit this,

but ever lose a kid?

Amen, right?

I love it, right?

Like now listen, listen.

I was the kid that got lost at Disneyland in Tokyo when my parents were there.

No shame on them.

Listen, I was very much one of those kids that would wander off on their own.

And it was, my parents probably should have invested in one of those things where they put a leash on the kid.

So that would have been me, right?

Right?

But man, listen, when you lose something,

that's super precious and super valuable, right?

Nothing else matters, does it?

Nothing else matters.

You are solely focused on that, finding whatever was lost that's super valuable.

And we're going to walk through this notion of finding what is lost

and really relate it to God's heart for people who do not know him.

How God searches for and desires those who do not know him as something that is so valuable to him.

And we're going to see that reflected in Paul and his letter.

Man, no better place in scripture do you see this articulated,

this heart of God articulated in a person than in Paul's words in Romans 9.

And so we're going to look today at reach, our mission statement,

which we get from Matthew 28.

We'll look at that in a little bit.

And we're going to go over reach, gather, grow in the next few weeks.

And then we're going to go into continue our Roman series into all the details

and the expository aspects of Romans 9, 10 through 16.

But this morning we're going to focus on this element,

this element of reaching the lost and what that looks like for us as believers

and the command, the command that God places for us to do that

and have that same heart that God has for lost people.

So let's start with a word of prayer and just ask the Lord,

ask the Lord to be present with us this morning,

to lead me, to guide me as we cover these things.

Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for your presence.

Lord, we thank you for your son and the cross and everything that that stands for.

The work that was accomplished.

The work that was accomplished there on my behalf and every single person's behalf that is here,

whether they're watching online or here in the room.

Lord, the gospel doesn't have its limits.

Lord, we're so grateful for your love and care for us that while we were yet sinners,

you were the one that came and found and made a way and created a path for us

to come and have a relationship with you.

Lord, be with me.

Focus it really clearly, Lord.

I ask this in Jesus name.

We're going to begin in Romans 9.

We're going to start in the first verse.

We're going to read the first three verses.

Paul says this,

I am speaking the truth in Christ.

I am not lying.

Now, I want you to understand this before we get into the few verses.

What Paul is doing here is helping establish the statement he's going to say in verses 2 and 3.

Why what he's saying is so important?

Because what he's going to say seems so outlandish.

It seems so out of place.

And so here we're going to see very clearly Paul say,

I am speaking the truth in Christ.

I'm telling you the truth.

I'm not lying.

In fact, he goes on and he says,

My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit.

That his very conscience is being checked, if you will.

Like if he's about to say something that is false,

that the Holy Spirit would convict him about what he's about to say.

So he's establishing this point.

In verse 1, how serious, how affirmed he is in what he's about to say.

He says this in verse 2,

That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Then he says this in verse 3,

and this is the part that he needs to verify,

that he needs to check, if you will, with the Holy Spirit.

For I wish, or I could wish,

that I myself,

and cut off from Christ

for the very sake of my brothers,

according to the flesh.

Paul is making such a dramatic statement here.

I wish that I was accursed.

I wish that if it were even possible,

that I would be the one cut off from Christ

so that others, my brothers, my fellow kinsmen,

would come to know Christ.

What a powerful,

powerful conviction Paul has here.

Paul uses this extreme language,

to describe his love for his brothers.

He uses this extreme,

unimaginable sentence

to describe the passion and care

that he has for those who do not know Christ.

This word, accursed,

I want you to see this.

It reflects the idea of being totally,

totally cut off.

To be cursed.

To be devoted to,

to destruction.

Paul is simply saying,

listen, if I could,

I'd take your place in hell.

If it were possible

for me to step in the gap for you,

I would.

It reminds me of an old pastor,

and I'm going to butcher the way he said it,

but he used to make this proclamation,

if people have to go to hell,

if they must go to hell,

let it be over my body

that is screaming and crying

and pleading for them not to go.

You see this reflection in Paul's heart here

where he says,

he is so compelled

to make such a statement.

He verifies its authenticity.

He's checked it against the Holy Spirit

in his own conscience.

He's not lying.

He says, if it were possible,

I would do this.

To be eternally separated from Christ

for the sake of my brothers.

I want you to see this.

He says this in verse 2.

He has this great sorrow,

this unceasing anguish in his heart.

A lot of this is rooted in

what the Israelites

were given.

Look at this in verse 4 as he continues.

They are Israelites.

This is who Paul's speaking to.

His kinsmen, his brothers.

And to them belong the adoption,

the glory, the covenant,

the giving of the law,

the worship, and the promises.

To them belong the patriarchs,

and from their race,

according to the flesh,

came is the Christ.

And Christ is

who is God over all,

blessed forever, amen.

See,

what is part of Paul's anguish

in this, the part of his

great sorrow is that

man, of all of the people

on earth, the Israelites

should have recognized and seen

and known who the Messiah was.

To them were given these things.

They were given, as he says

very clearly, to them belongs the

very adoption into the family of God.

The glory, the covenants,

the promises, they had this,

yet they rejected him.

Yet they denied who he was.

So Paul's heart is heavy

and in sorrow

and in anguish over

their rejection of who

God is and who Jesus is

ultimately. And I want you to see this.

Paul's burden for

his fellow brothers,

for his kinsmen, is a very direct

reflection of God's own

desire and God's own heart.

2 Peter chapter 3

verse 9, Peter speaks of this.

He says this in verse 9,

The Lord is not slow

his promises, as some count

slowness, but he is patient

toward you, not wishing

here it is, not wishing

that any should perish.

Not wishing that anybody would

experience separation

from God, but that all

should reach this place of

repentance. This is the gospel

message, right? This is what we're talking

about when we say we want to reach the

lost. We're not talking about reaching them to

come to a country club. We're talking

about reaching them to come to the

full knowledge and knowing who

Jesus is to them.

And it walks in this step of repentance,

recognizing first and foremost,

man, I'm a sinner

in need of a Savior.

And where that puts us in this place

between us and God, when we walk

in contra, as rebels,

we've walked through this as Paul has laid it out

very extensively in the first part of

Romans 1-4. It's all

about the gospel and justification.

That's a church word that just

means you're now in good standing with God.

And as Paul's walking through this,

you see his heart, this pleading,

this earnest sorrow

over those who do not know

the Lord. I'm going to ask you this

question, and it might sting a little bit.

When was the last time you had that kind of sorrow

for someone that didn't know the Lord?

When was the last time you were in

over someone that doesn't know

the Lord? I'm not saying

it doesn't happen. I know many parents here

that weep over their children's

soul. But if you're here and you're like, man, honestly,

I've never even really considered it.

This is what we're talking about when we talk about

the mission that the church, why we exist.

This is one of the major reasons

why we exist. To share the

good news of Jesus to those who

do not know it. And our hearts,

they should be heavy and

burdened for those who do not

know the Lord. We should be

in constant prayer for them.

We walk through, Paul is

walking us through many, many aspects.

I want you to see this in Luke 19

verse 41. Jesus himself

verse 41, as he is

drawing into Jerusalem

before he's going to be executed.

As he's walking in, he has

the same heart that Paul expresses

here. He says, and when he drew near

and he saw the city,

he wept over it.

He was grieving over it because they

would shout, Hosanna, Hosanna

as he walked in. But in a few short

days, they would be screaming the same

murderous phrase, crucify

him, crucify him, crucify

him. Paul speaks to Timothy, a young

pastor in 1 Timothy chapter 2

as he's giving him instructions and

counsel. He says this, this is a good thing

as he's talking about some instructions he's

given him, and it is pleasing

in the sight of our God, our God

our Savior, and I want you to see

this in verse 4, whose

desires, who desire, that's God,

desires all people

to be saved and come

to the knowledge of truth.

That is God's heart.

And what we see Paul articulating

in Romans 9 is when

our heart starts to beat

like God's heart, we

start to have this passion, this

burden, this anguish in our

soul for those who do not

know the Lord. It's real.

It's not just a show we put

on to impress people

or to pretend to have some form of

spirituality. It is a genuine,

authentic burden

and sorrow. When you see someone that's

lost, that doesn't know the Lord,

you weep for them.

See, Paul wasn't just a theologian,

of grace. He was a man

whose heart beat with God's own

heartbeat. His burden for the lost

was so heavy that he would have

traded places. That's so

mind-boggling for me to even

rationalize because I know what I have in

Jesus and I'm like, man, I don't want

to give it away to anybody. It's

so special. I know how God

loves me despite my brokenness

and for Paul to say, listen, I

would give that all up if it would

mean for a second that

you, an unbeliever, would be able

to walk into heaven, I would give it

up. Wow, that is a heart

that reflects the heart of Jesus

who is the one who actually

filled that gap. See, Paul recognizes

very clearly he can't

do that because he's not the Savior.

Paul recognizes, hey, listen, I wish

I could, but I can't. I'm a sinner

and broken just like you. The

only way I can help you with this is to

point you to the very person that has

the ability to step in the gap

and that's Jesus. So we

see that. If he could, he would.

But he can't. But we see

in his action that this is the kind of love

that we are called to carry

when we reach the lost.

When we carry the gospel to those

who do not know Jesus.

So when we read, I want you to turn, if you will,

to Matthew 28. This is

where we get our statement of reaching

the lost. Where we get our mission

statement. It's in Matthew 28.

It says these words. Verse 17.

It's the latter part of Matthew 28.

Jesus says these words. I'm going to begin in verse 17.

I want you to see this. This is so powerful.

And when they saw him, that is

Jesus, after his resurrection,

they worshipped him. But some

doubted. Circle that.

That's such a powerful phrase right there.

Those three words are not in there

by accident. But some

doubted. And then

it is these words that Jesus says

to them as there were those who

doubted. He says, and Jesus came and he said

to them, all authority

in heaven and on earth

has been given to me.

Verse 19. This is where we get the phrase

go, or this is where we get the

phrase reach the lost. This is where we

as a church, the River Church, establish

our mission. He says in verse 19,

go therefore and

of all nations.

Baptizing them in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit. Teaching them to

observe all that I have commanded you

and behold, pay

attention to this, circle this line as well,

and behold, I

am with you always.

To the end of the

age. I love that those three words

are in there. And some

doubted. You may be sitting here today

and I've heard it countless times and I'm

not trying to condemn you. I get it. It's real.

The doubt of how

do I share my faith to someone that

doesn't know it. The fear that overcomes

believers when we talk about

our faith. What if they reject it? What if they

reject me? What if they condemn

me? What if I don't know

what to say? They ask a question

and I have no clue what the answer is.

Some doubted. What if it calls

a riff in my relationship when I share

my faith in Jesus and who he is

and what he means to me? Some doubted.

What if my

workplace causes me to lose my

job? And I'm not trying to say

be belligerent in your workplace. Please

understand what I'm saying. But what if

me talking about my faith at my

workplace causes me to lose

my job? And some doubted.

See, we understand the enemy doesn't

want us to fulfill this

command, this mission that Christ has placed

in our life to go and

make disciples.

To go and make disciples.

To share what Jesus has done

in our life. I love that

there's this phrase that Jesus recognizes

that even amongst his disciples

there were still those

that doubted. Maybe they doubted

who Jesus was in their own life. They weren't

sure. Maybe they doubted his

authority and his reign. And I love that

Jesus continues the first thing out of his

mouth is, listen, all authority

on heaven, in heaven,

and on earth, they have been granted

to him. I want you to understand

that phrase. It is sealed

with the power of the resurrection.

Jesus isn't just some guy

coming out there and saying, hey, listen everybody, I want

you to hear, I'm the man now.

Heaven's going to listen to me and earth is going to listen

to me with no valid

authority. No, he has

the full backing of

heaven, the full backing of everything

on earth, and it's sealed by

his resurrection. It's the very

proof that he has

that authority. And listen to what he

says. And I want you to think about this.

If God commands, this is not just

like, sometimes we think

this, I'm not trying to, we sometimes

think that God's saying, hey man, if you feel like

it, then go. Listen, if your schedule's

all taken care of, and you've got

everything figured out, and you've got some free time,

then go. Listen, if the kids

aren't going to get in your way, and you've got

them all under control, then you

can go. I'm being sarcastic.

Throwing sarcasm on this. Right?

It's true. We sometimes feel that way. Like, hey,

listen, my schedule's too packed,

Lord. When I get my schedule more

controlled and in line, and I get

a little bit more free time, then I'll

go. When it's not so chaotic and crazy,

man, then I'll go, Lord.

Lord, when I get into the Word, and

I'm more confident, and I know what

His Word is saying, then I'll go.

When I have the right answers all

figured out, then I'll go,

Lord. That's not what Jesus says.

You notice he doesn't say when you feel like

it, when your schedule's clear, when you

got it all figured out. That's not what he says.

He says simply, just

disciples. That's a command.

It's an imperative command

that has the full, I want you to hear this,

the full backing and

authority of heaven and

earth. Full backing of heaven

and earth. The command of heaven

says, we are commanded

to go. Not a

suggestion. It's not a

general idea that we should

maybe at some point get behind.

No. I want you to understand

Paul even affirms this in

Romans chapter 1. You don't have to turn

there. It'll be on the screen. In verse 14

of Romans 1, as Paul is walking

through the gospel, he says this very

clearly in verse 14 of chapter

1. I am

under obligation.

I am under obligation

both to the Greek and to the barbarians,

both to the wise and to

the foolish. I am commanded

by the authority of heaven and

earth to do what I am doing.

That's not just because Paul's an apostle.

That's because Paul's a disciple of Christ.

That's not just because Paul's a preacher.

That's because Paul is a disciple

of Christ. And this is what

he says, verse 15.

So, I am eager

to preach the gospel.

I am eager because I have this

obligation because I have been commanded

by heaven to go

make disciples. When we

take it that seriously, holy smokes,

can you imagine what God will do in our

families, in our communities,

in our homes, in our

workplace? When we take this

command that God has laid out at

his disciples' feet, us,

those who call him Lord and Master,

and we say, Lord, I'll do whatever

you say. He says, first

and foremost, go make

disciples. This is not

some kind of side project the church is going

to get behind someday. This is

the very reason we exist as

a church is to go make

disciples, to share the

good news of Jesus, his love,

his kindness, his forgiveness, his

mercy, his grace to those

who do not know it.

If you can remember the moment when

you fully understood

the truth of the gospel, when you

recognize, man, I'm a sinner, I'm hopeless,

I need a Lord, and

someone came to you and shared the good

news of Jesus, man,

weren't you excited? Wow, there's a

way out! Someone loves me

despite the way I have acted against them?

Amazing. The truth of the

gospel here is so

incredible. I love that Paul says,

man, I am under obligation.

And I'm here to tell you, church, this is

not something that we get to sideline

or when it's convenient

for us. No, we are called, we're commanded

to share the good news of

Jesus as disciples of Jesus.

To make disciples.

You see this even at the end of

Romans, Romans 15,

verse 20, Paul says this, and thus

I make it my ambition

to preach the

gospel. He's eager

and he's ambitious. Though his heart is heavy,

and full of sorrow, he is

eager and ambitious because he knows,

he knows the only

way that someone is going to come to

he can't change their place for them.

The only way they're going to be in

heaven together is if they

will submit to the word of God

and who Jesus is, and come

and know what that good news means

for them. Personal relationship

with Jesus. That's the kicker.

As we look at this,

we see Jesus' last

words here in Romans 28 to his

disciples, his words, they're not just suggestions.

This is a command that is

sealed with the authority, the resurrected

authority of God. We see

in Paul's own life how seriously

Paul took it. He carried out

this mission, this command with his

relentless passion, telling

people, hey listen, I am

obligated to everyone everywhere to share

the good news of Jesus.

See, this isn't the side project, like I've said,

of the church. This is

the very church's mission.

And the reason it's the church's mission,

is because it is God's

mission, and God's plan.

I want you to do something this week.

Some practical, some practical things

that you can do as we're talking about this

reach. In your quiet time, when you're

in the word, and I hope you have that,

that you would have a very serious

heart-to-heart with God. That you would

ask God to place one

person, one person, that's all it takes,

one person. Who,

who God should I be

weeping over? Who God should my

heart anguish for? Who God

should I carry great sorrow

for, that they do not know

you? Pray for that.

And then I want you to ask the Lord to do this.

Lord, how are you going to use

me to show your love,

your goodness, your kindness,

your grace, your mercy,

to that person? Lord, show me.

It can be as simple as you sharing

your testimony. It could be you

inviting them to church.

It may not even be church. You might invite

them out for a cup of coffee. It could

be, it could be, do

something so kind and caring

that it shows the love of God

with nothing else in return.

You just do some act of kindness

for them. And if they come to you and ask

you, why did you do that? You say, you know,

I have a God that loves me. He gave me

something that I don't deserve. And I

just want you to know what that feels like.

That simple. That simple.

And you go back to Romans 9, verses 4

and 5. There is a phrase

in there that's so very powerful.

And I want you to see this. Paul says

this,

And to them belong, and he listed

these things, the adoption,

the glory, the covenants, the

giving of the law, the worship. They have

the promises. They have the patriarchs.

It's from their race.

And here's the kicker, and I want you to

see that it is from their race. The

culmination of all of those things that they

had point to, directly

to, the person of

Jesus. The Christ. The Messiah.

You see, that is

where everything points. The privilege

that the Israelites had,

is culminated at the very

person of Jesus.

That is the very center of God's

love story for humanity.

That he would send, I love this,

in this last phrase, who is

God over all.

Circle that word, all.

It's such a wonderful word.

It means there is no exclusion.

That it is something that is offered to every

I remember when I was going into prisons in Ohio,

I saw this dude who was tattooed

from head to toe. He had a swastika tattooed.

He had a swastika tattooed on his forehead.

And there was something that was tattooed to the

side of his chin. I'll never forget it.

It is something in my mind that breaks

my heart. It was tattooed

on the side of his forehead, or the

side of his chin line. He had a pretty

predominant chin line. Unforgiven

forever. I saw that and

my heart broke. So I went and talked to

him. And I wish I could say that man came

to know the Lord, but he full on rejected

anything that was being

offered. For someone to live their

life thinking that God

can never forgive them.

That there is no hope

for them. That is heartbreaking.

Because it's so contrary

to the truth of what God is saying.

That the gospel, the good news

of Jesus, is in

fact for all.

And it is our choice whether we

choose to walk in this place of repentance

or we reject the free gift

that God is giving us. That's

our choice. I love that Paul

is so clear in this

message. The culmination of God's

at the cross. In the person of

Jesus. The Messiah.

The Christ. And quite frankly

our obedience, I want

you to see this connection, our obedience

to what God commands

us to do is how

God's love is shared

in this world. How the love of

Jesus is shared in

this world. You know

the Lord's going to lay some people on your heart

quite frankly that are hard

to share the gospel with. If you don't

think for a second there was a thought in my head

when I go talk to this dude that has a

swastika tattooed on his forehead and says

unforgiven forever that this guy's going to

greet me with open arms, not a

chance. There was a lot of fear

and doubt and Lord why are you asking

me to talk to this guy? Clearly he has

nothing, he's let everybody know

he wants nothing to do with you.

Man if someone took that approach with me, because

trust me, as someone who walked as an

atheist, they would have said the same thing.

Maybe I didn't have it tattooed on my face but

to tell you, they knew. Someone

didn't reach out and say hey listen, all

the stuff you've gone through in your life, guess what?

There's a God who loves you, who cares

for you, who died for

you, who loved you enough

to give you away. Wow!

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus for loving me

enough to allow me to hear

the good news of the gospel

and to understand the truth

behind it. And we as believers

we have this call and when we obey

that call, the world

sees, the world sees

the love of God, that we're willing

to go to somebody that maybe not fit

our normal cultural means.

And we say hey listen, I care

about you and so does God.

And we're not fake about it, we're

real, we're authentic, we're genuine

about it. I'm not

doing this to check some box off

in my religious chart, I'm doing it

because first and foremost, Jesus

told me to go and secondly

I want other people to see the

love of God through me.

What a powerful message we see

here when we are obedient

to what God calls us to do.

Just a few verses, Romans chapter

2. It says this in verse 3

Do you suppose, O man, you

who judge those who practice thus things

and yet do them yourselves, that

you will escape the judgment of God?

Or do you presume on the

riches of his kindness and forbearance

and patience, not knowing

look at this, this is the part that's so powerful

that God's kindness

is meant to lead you

We're not called to be judges of

everybody else's sins, we're

called to walk in the holiness of God

and in the holiness of God we can

go to people who are broken and show

mercy, can show love and kindness

and we can point them to

what repentance looks like because

we've walked through it. I love what

John 13 says, by this all

people will know that you are

my disciples, John says.

If you have love

for one another. 2 Corinthians

5.20, this is another words from Paul,

therefore we are ambassadors

for Christ, God making

his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf

of Christ, be reconciled

to God. Be reconciled.

That's, that's, I love that

Paul says this in Corinthians, that God

is making his appeal to humanity

to the world that doesn't know him

through us.

This is our call, this is why we do

what we do, why reach is such a big part

of our church. And the

call is not just for the pastor or for

the staff people, the call is for

anybody that calls themselves a

disciple. That anybody that has claimed

Jesus as their Lord. The command

is not a suggestion, it is

in fact an imperative command.

Go, make disciples.

Question we have to come to is when

we hear these things, this

heart of God, this anguish that

God has, the plan that he's laid out,

what do we do with it? Are we going to be obedient

with it and share his love

to the rest of the world? Let's

pray. Heavenly Father, thank you

this morning for walking us through

these scriptures, leading us in the

spirit, Lord. Lord, I pray

that we would be broken for people

who do not know. Lord, that

we would not sit comfortably

or idly in this

world knowing that

there are those who will spend an

eternity separated and

apart from you. Lord, that our

hearts would burn

heavy for those in our

community, in our family,

in our workplace, our friends,

Lord, our children,

our parents. Lord, I pray

that every single one of us would submit

to your authority, both that which is

on this earth and in heaven, and when

you tell us to go, we obey.

That may look different for every single

one of us, Lord, but I pray

when you give us that command

and we know it's from you, we would walk

in those things and go. Lord, we love

you. We thank you for all that you do. In Jesus'