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The River ChurchSermons

Romans 9-16

Israel's Present

Josh Combs · Sunday, 5 October 2025 · Romans 9:30-10:21 · 46:23 · 5,449 words

Romans S24 · 9:30-10:21 Goodrich

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

The sermon explains Romans 9‑11, showing that God’s word has not failed, that Israel’s attempt to be justified by the law fails because they pursued it by works, while Gentiles receive righteousness by faith. It emphasizes that Christ is the stone of stumbling and that true righteousness is through faith, not human effort. The preacher then calls the listener to stop relying on good works, recognize their own inability, and channel their zeal into being ambassadors who share the gospel.

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.

law 59 ambassador 11 portion 10 zeal 11 kettle 4 stumble 11 exclusive 4 quote 11 guardian 4 energy 5 israelite 8 boil 5

Topics

The Law 10 Salvation 10 Faith 7 Righteousness 4 The Gospel 4 Mission & Evangelism 4 The Holy Spirit 2 Israel 1 Sin 1 Obedience 1 Justification 1

Scripture referenced 47

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

Romans 9 1:24 Romans 9 1:31 Romans 9:6 1:54 Romans 9 2:28 Romans 9:30 2:59 Romans 9:32 11:39 Romans 10 14:07 Romans 10:1 14:07 Galatians 1 16:06 Galatians 1 17:55 Galatians 1:2 17:55 Acts 22 18:01 Romans 10:2 19:24 Philippians 3 20:00 Philippians 3:4 20:19 Philippians 3:4 20:33 Romans 9 21:12 Romans 3 21:12 Romans 3:19 21:12 Romans 3:19 21:34 James 2:10 22:10 James 2:19 22:21 Galatians 3 22:30 Galatians 3:24 22:37 Romans 9 23:33 Romans 10:5 23:43 Romans 10:7 25:26 Romans 10:8 26:06 Deuteronomy 30 26:07 Romans 10:9 26:32 Romans 10:9 27:40 Romans 10:13 27:53 Romans 9 28:04 Acts 2 28:07 Acts 2 28:26 Acts 2:22 28:39 Acts 2:21 28:40 Romans 9 29:22 Romans 10 29:24 Romans 10:10-1 29:33 Romans 10:14 31:17 Romans 10:14 37:45 Romans 1 39:49 2 Corinthians 5 40:17 2 Corinthians 5:20 40:28 2 Corinthians 5:20 40:28 Romans 10:21 43:23

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, 0:41. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

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

We're going to pick up in verse 30 in just a moment. If you're a guest,

I want to welcome you, honor to have you here today. It's great to be able to gather together.

Romans chapter 9, Paul is beginning a slightly different section in the book of Romans in

chapter 9, 10, and 11. He is going to speak about the Israelites, the Jews, and he's going to be

talking to the Gentiles, the Romans, the Greeks that are in the church at Rome about the Israelites.

Of course, the Israelites can listen in and read, and I'm sure that certain portions of the passage

blessed them. But the thesis is in verse number 6. So Romans 9, 6, Paul says,

it is not as though the word of God has failed. So the question is, has God failed? Is what God's

said was going to happen, did that fail to happen? Did God miscalculate? Did God lie? Did God tell an

untruth? Well, to prove over and over again the reliability of God, the trustworthiness of God's

word, Paul throughout Romans 9, 10, and 11 quotes the Old Testament over and over and over again.

He quotes Malachi, and he quotes Isaiah multiple times. He will quote the prophet

Nahum. He will quote all of these different Old Testament books, including the books of Moses,

to prove God's consistency and the truth that God has not failed. So let's pick up in verse 30,

Romans chapter 9, verse 30. What shall we say then? There's the third question in a sequence of

three. Paul says that Gentiles, meaning non-Jews, who did not pursue righteousness have attained it,

that is, a righteousness that is by faith, but that Israel, who pursued a law that would lead to

righteousness, did not succeed in reaching that law. Paul says, well, why? Because they did not

pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. Paul is writing here, as we've noted, and I

think this context about the letter of Romans is very important, to the church in Rome comprised of

Jewish followers of Jesus and Gentile followers of Jesus. Well, those two groups of people came from

very, very different backgrounds, very different religious backgrounds, very different awareness

and understanding of the Old Testament, of the scriptures, of the stories in the Old Testament

of Moses and Abraham, and so on and so forth. The Israelites, the Jews, would have known those

stories very well. They would have been raised with those things. They would have understood

Jesus. They would have been raised with those things. They would have been raised with those

Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy. They would know about the prophets.

Many of them could quote the scriptures, whereas the Gentiles, they did not grow up with that

understanding. Well, Paul says here, those two groups set in kind of opposition for each other

or against each other. He uses the word pursue, and he sets this visual here of kind of a race.

He says the two of them were pursuing, and only one

has attained. For the Israelites, they were pursuing salvation by obeying the law. Now,

when we say the law in biblical context, we're not talking about the speed limit or laws in our

country or in our culture or our state. We're talking about the Mosaic law, the law that God

gave to Moses, 600 plus laws. Now, many of us would be able to name a few, if not all, of the

Ten Commandments, but the Ten Commandments were only a small portion of the Mosaic law, Moses's

law, not little pieces of tile mosaic, but Moses's law that God gave him on Mount Sinai. Well, the

law was detailed about almost every aspect of society, of diet, of life, of morality, of worship

of God, all of these different things. And if you ever read those portions of scripture, it's very

clear that it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you ever read those portions

of scripture, it's very clear that it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

ever read those portions of scripture, it is important to know that God gave him the law. And if you

not of works, so no one gets to boast.

It's not as if we get to heaven and there are two groups,

those who made it in by the skin of their teeth

and those who earned it.

That doesn't exist in heaven.

It's not as if there's a select group of graduates.

We'll make it the heaven's honor society over here.

And the rest just kind of made it in.

By the way, in high school,

I was one of those just made it in kind of guys.

I had no extra tassels or extra certificates.

They're like, I guess we should give this to you

just to get you out of here.

In heaven, it will be not the honor society

looking over and being like, wow, I'm surprised she made it in.

He made it here.

Wow, this is crazy.

Look at our club over here,

the people who have earned salvation.

That was the idea that the Jews had.

The idea for them was that they were born

into the right nation.

They had the right genealogical connections

and throughout their life, they had the law.

And because they had the law,

they were going to obey the law.

And because they had the right family,

because they had heard the law,

and because they were trying to obey the law,

convinced themselves in their own mind

that they had obeyed the law,

that they were a guarantee for heaven.

And when the scripture says here

that they did not succeed,

it would have been shocking to many of them.

Verse 32 continues.

They thought it was based on works.

They have stumbled.

There it is, the race.

Kind of metaphor imagery here.

They were persecuted.

They were pursuing.

But they did not achieve

because along the path, they stumbled.

The scripture says here,

they stumbled over the stumbling stone.

As it is written, and this is a quote

from two passages in the prophet Isaiah.

As it is written,

behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling,

a rock of offense,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

Paul says this later too.

The Corinthian church.

He says, we preach Christ crucified,

a stumbling block to Jews.

This was just too much to get over.

Here, they had been raised to believe

I'm in the right family.

I'm obeying the law.

I must be in for heaven.

And then Jesus comes

and Isaiah prophesies him as this stone of stumbling.

And Paul quotes this multiple times.

And here's this.

This huge block, this stone of stumbling.

We realize it's become the chief cornerstone.

It's the foundation upon which we must build our lives.

But to the Jews,

it was them running up against something

they had never expected to see.

That God would send the Messiah, the Christ,

and he would suffer.

He would not bring down Roman tyranny,

but he would destroy the works of the devil.

This was completely backwards and opposite

to what they expect.

And so instead,

instead of receiving Jesus

and building their life upon Jesus,

they stumbled over it.

And there are some today who will hear,

you can't be good enough to get to heaven.

I can't be good enough to get to heaven.

There is no amount of works

or no single work that we can do

to earn our way to heaven.

It is only by the grace of Jesus.

It is only by faith.

For many, they stumbled over that.

So Paul says in verse one of chapter 10,

brothers, my heart's desire,

and prayer to God for them

is that they may be saved.

He not only prays for them,

but he works for their salvation,

meaning he shares the gospel.

He preaches the gospel.

Paul says, for I bear them witness

that they have a zeal for God,

but not according to knowledge,

for being ignorant of the righteousness of God

and seeking to establish their own.

Meaning if I can establish my own,

I have something to be proud of.

I have something to boast about.

I have a religious resume that looks really good.

the stone of stumbling, rejecting Christ, ignorant of the righteousness of God because they were

seeking to establish their own. They did not submit to God's righteousness. Before I look at

a couple things here, I want you to see what Paul is revealing here. He's saying someone who's

depending on works-based salvation, someone who believes they can achieve salvation because of

their own actions and avoiding some of the sins, are ignorant of the righteousness of God, seeking

to establish their own righteousness, and it is all based in pride. Will not submit to God's

righteousness. Some of you, this passage of scripture just comes right up against your idea

of salvation, that you can earn it, that you can be good enough, and I'm here to tell you

as lovingly as I can, you cannot be. No one can be. Paul understands.

Hold your spot in Romans and go just a couple of books to the right, to the book of Galatians.

Galatians chapter 1. The apostle Paul or Saint Paul began his life as Saul. He was, as he describes

himself, a Pharisee of Pharisees. His family had followed all the religious rituals, so he was born

into the right family. He was named after the most prominent member of his family tree, the king

in the Old Testament, King Saul.

Paul says, you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church, church of

God, and violently, and I tried to destroy it, and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own

age among my people. He said, I was climbing the ladder rapidly. Paul says, so extremely zealous

was I for the traditions of my fathers. Paul says, that was my former life.

Back to Romans. So when Paul says in verse 2, I bear them witness, he says, I know that. I know how

they're feeling because I used to be there. I used to be in the spot where I thought I could earn

God's favor. I thought I could be dedicated enough. And he uses the word zealous. We see that word

zeal in verse 2. Paul in Galatians 1 uses the word zealous. When Paul is conveying his testimony

in Acts chapter 22, he says, being zealous for God as all of you are today.

He recognizes the zeal of the Jewish people. Now, zeal comes from the Greek word. It means to

seethe, bubble, boil from the sound of boiling water is where it comes from. It literally means

to be hot or fervent. It's an energy. It's a passion. Think about a tea kettle. This morning,

I put on the kettle so my wife could make tea, and then I could have a pour over. So I put on

the kettle. It's going to be great. The water is going to boil, and then it's going to make,

make our coffee hot. In the 1800s, we had steam-powered locomotives or steam-powered

farm equipment. There was a harnessing of that zeal, of that passion. This morning,

my wife came to walk down the stairs. I held her hand, and I thought, well, if she falls,

I'll catch her, but I'm catching her tea with me. So now the kettle will not be my friend.

So zeal is, again, this energy, and it is the idea of having a passion in a certain direction.

Paul says,

verse 2, they have an energy. One commentator said, a praiseworthy devotion to God. That's what

he means by zeal. They have an energy. They have a passion, but they're running in the wrong

direction. It is without knowledge. There's an ignorance to it. Paul says it's praiseworthy,

but there's an ignorance because they want to establish their own righteousness,

and they will not submit to the righteousness.

of God. Again, Paul understood this. Paul says in Philippians 3, he writes, and be found in him,

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith

in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Look at verse 4. Paul says they have a

zeal without knowledge. They're trying to establish their own credibility before God based upon their

works. Verse 4, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Writer, as I was reading this week, made a point I thought was just so brilliant.

He points out that the Jews, the Israelites, instead of worshiping God, started to worship

the law. The law became what they celebrated. It was not God. So Paul says Christ becomes the end

of the law for righteousness. The Israelites had missed the purpose of the law.

Hold your spot in Romans 9 and just go back to Romans chapter 3 for a moment. Romans 3 verse 19

and 20. If you're taking notes, you just want to highlight or bracket this passage of scripture

here. This is the purpose of the law. And Paul will repeat this many times throughout the New

Testament. Romans 3, 19, 4. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who

are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable

to God.

For by works of the law, no human being will be justified, meaning will be made right before God

in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. What was the purpose of the law?

The purpose of the law was to show the sinfulness of the human heart. No one can obey the law and

be justified. We can't do it. We can't keep it. James 2, 10 says, whoever keeps the whole law,

but breaks it in one point is guilty, held accountable of all the law.

So verse 19, the law does what? It shuts everyone's mouth. It stops all excuses. It holds everyone in

the world accountable. Now in Galatians, you don't have to turn there, but Galatians chapter 3

verse 24, Paul says of the law that it had a purpose in the Old Testament. It was this.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith.

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. The law was in a sense like a,

like a babysitter or a legal guardian until the adoption happened. The law was there to tell us,

hey, this is sin. Hey, this is wrong. And it was to keep us on the straight and narrow,

but it also revealed we're sinners. We can't be good enough. Jesus comes, Jesus lives,

the perfect life obeys every law, dies on the cross, is buried, rises from the dead.

And when we come to faith in Christ, we move from being under the guardian to now being under

the spirit, led by the spirit, adopted into the family of God. Now go back to Romans 9.

The Jew, the Israel, this would be shocking. Verse 5, word of God fail. Well, here's now a sequence

of quotations from the Old Testament. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on

the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. Well, if you're going to take

good luck, good luck is essentially my paraphrase of that, because you can't do it. You can't

accomplish all 600 plus laws every moment of every day for the rest of your life. Galatians says,

for it is written, curse the everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law

and do them. So the law does what? It points out our sin. Moses said this all the way back in the

book of Leviticus. So follow the logic of what Paul is saying here. Paul's saying the Jews think

they obey the law and that's going to get them into heaven. The problem is they've never obeyed

the law. And Moses said it back in Leviticus that they could not. Verse 6, but the righteousness

based on faith.

Faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven.

That is to bring Christ down.

Or who will ascend into the abyss?

That is to bring Christ up from the dead.

This is a quotation from the Old Testament as well.

And Paul's essentially just saying, listen, this righteousness based on faith is a recognition.

I'm not going to go into heaven and get salvation for myself.

I'm not going to go, verse 7, into the abyss, into the land of the dead.

And bring Christ up from the dead.

I'm unable to do that.

One writer said, there is no place in Christianity, as in other religions, for meritorious pilgrimages.

Meaning, it's not like I really want to be saved.

If I make this 2,000 mile pilgrimage, I can check the box and be assured of my salvation.

Paul's saying, you can't just decide, I'm going to take the pilgrimage into heaven and bring salvation down to myself.

I'm going to go into the land of the dead.

And bring Christ up from the dead.

We cannot do it.

Look at verse 8.

Here's a quotation from Deuteronomy chapter 30.

What does it say?

What does the Bible say?

The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.

That is the word of faith that we proclaim.

So many of the Israelites were depending on their works to earn salvation.

So many people do that today.

Look at verse 9.

Here's a response in faith.

Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

You will be saved.

This is a quotation from the Old Testament, from the prophet Joel.

Joel said, and if it shall come to pass, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now think about this.

To the listeners, to the original hearers in Rome,

the Jews thought,

they had exclusive rights to salvation,

exclusive rights to heaven.

And the only way someone outside of the Jewish nation could be saved

was to convert to Judaism and join the nation.

What Paul is saying, he's saying, listen, you can't be good enough.

The law was meant to reveal our sin.

It's over.

The law, its purpose in our life changes dramatically when we come to know Jesus.

We're not under the law.

We're led by the Spirit.

We're led by the Spirit.

And this beautiful word in verse 9 is incredibly important.

If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

Verse 13, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.

This is for everyone.

This isn't exclusive just to Jews.

This is for the whole world.

Hold your spot in Romans 9 and go to the left to the book of Acts real quick.

Acts chapter 2.

This is Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost.

So his hearers would have been Jews and those who had converted to Judaism.

Chapter 2, he's going to preach the gospel.

Verse 22 and forward.

But look at verse 21.

He preaches Joel and he references Joel.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Meaning this doesn't matter the religious background that you come from.

If you grew up in church or if you grew up never near going to a church.

That's not what's important.

Paul's saying it doesn't matter if you're Gentile or whether you're Jew.

If you come to faith in Christ and you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved.

Go back to Romans 9.

Excuse me, Romans 10.

Paul says, for with the heart, verse 10, one believes and is justified.

And with the mouth, one confesses.

And is saved.

For the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.

Here's another quote from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.

For the same Lord is Lord of all.

bestowing his riches on all who call on him this is radical this is shocking because paul is saying

it's not about your genealogy it's all who call on jesus he will bestow his riches on all who call

on him here it is verse 13 for everyone who calls upon the name of the lord will be saved church

this is the incredible gospel message that we get to proclaim we get to proclaim that this is not

exclusive to one nation or one people or one type of group uh you know of a religious people this is

for everyone you meet anyone you meet who calls on the name of the lord will be saved saved from

what saved from the eternal consequences of their sin because all have sin and we all fall short of

the glory of god but there is a way to receive forgiveness and and have the gift of

eternity and we all fall short of the glory of god but there is a way to receive forgiveness

and and have the gift of eternity and we all fall short of the glory of god but there is a way to

have the gift of eternity and we all fall short of the glory of god but there is a way to

eternal life and it's not by the works that we do it's by who we put our faith in have you put your

faith in jesus have you come to faith in christ and realize he is dying on the cross for our sins

he is buried and he rose from the dead and it is he and he alone who offers salvation to the world

now look at verse 14 how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed paul's going

to run through a sequence of logic here he says if they haven't believed on him they

certainly will not call on him for salvation and how are they to believe in him of whom they have

never heard so the logic is very simple we can all follow this they're not going to call on someone

whom they've never believed in and how will they ever be able to believe in someone if they've never

heard about him and how are they to hear without someone preaching how are they to preach unless

they are sent as it is written here's another quote this is isaiah

it's also quoted in the prophet nahum how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news

last seven days of my life have been some of the most exhausting in my ministry very nervous to

preach today because i am so tired when i'm tired maybe like you i say dumb things and i don't have

the option of being quiet today just before the 11 o'clock last week i received word of what was

happening in grand blank did not know how it would deeply impact me and affect

me and so many folks that i love and care for and the last seven days have been exhausting more and

more and more maybe like you i am deeply grieved by the brokenness of the world we live in sorrow

must see folks there is only one answer darkness of this world only one there's a place and a time

for politicians and government leaders to make good laws and faithful judges to execute justice

i'm thankful for the men and women who serve in that capacity

there is only one solution only one message that changes human heart and it's not not just for good

people it's not just for people who grew up in sunday school or catechism it's for people that

sit in jails and prisons, who are homeless or billionaires. It's for people that speak English

and it's for folks who will never step foot on American soil. Last night I was invited to speak

at an event where there was a gathering of different churches. It was unlike anything I'd

ever spoken at before. It's a gathering of churches from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

So there was a Chinese church, Arabic church, Indian church, Filipino church. They began to sing,

began to sing songs in their native languages, none of which I speak. It wasn't like I was

picking up a word or two there. It was like, awesome. I have no idea what you're saying.

Thank you for printing the words on the screen, right? You heard folks who love Jesus, singing

about Jesus. You're sitting here and you're frustrated by the state of the world. It's good.

You have a zeal in your heart.

Good. There's a fire, water in your soul, if you will, seems to be boiling. You're just like, man,

I'm getting frustrated. I got to do something. You're a Christian. Let me give you a job today

that will actually make a difference. Because some of you think arguing for the 100th time

on social media, that will be the time that changes something, changes someone's mind.

You're going to make that magic comment on someone's post and they're just going to completely

change their opinion of everything in the world. Boiling, you're steaming. There's something you

just have this zeal. Look at verse 14. We want people to call on the name of the Lord to be saved,

but they can't call on him if they've never believed in him. And how will they believe

in whom they have never heard? Please hear me. There are people in your workplace right now

who have never heard the gospel. Never. We think, oh, everybody's heard of that. I can't even tell

you the amount of times I've heard people that live in affluent neighborhoods, nice country towns,

and they come up to me and they go, man, I've never heard of that. I've never heard of that.

I didn't hear the name of Jesus. I didn't hear the gospel until college. I didn't hear the name

or the gospel until I was 30 years old. And I'm thinking, my goodness, I need to remember there

are people on my street, in my neighborhood, folks that I'm encountering every day who have

never heard the gospel. So how are they going to call on Jesus and be saved? How are they going

to believe in someone and then call on him if we never tell them? And how are they to hear without

someone preaching? And that's just not the preacher. That's just not the pastor. That's

every person who has been called out of darkness and into life. That is every man, woman, and child

who knows Jesus. You are a preacher. It will change the world. That's what will transform

families and communities. You say, Josh, I can't do it as well as you. That's okay. This is my

gift. It may not be yours, but you and I are still called to faithfully share the gospel. There are

people in your class tomorrow morning who need to hear the gospel. There are guys at work that

you've been embarrassed about talking about the gospel with that you need to man up and share the

gospel tomorrow with them. Because the gospel, as we know in Romans 1, is the power of God that

leads to salvation.

nothing else. How will they hear unless someone preaches? How are they to preach unless they are

sent? I want to show you one more verse and we'll be done. Go over to 2 Corinthians 5. Not in my

notes, sorry tech team. 2 Corinthians 5, 20. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20. We are ambassadors

for Christ. What an honor that we represent the high king of heaven. So I, my wife and I, we are

ambassadors on our street, in our little corner of the world. You're an ambassador in your

neighborhood. You're an ambassador in your family. You're an ambassador in your school. Every teacher,

every classroom that you've been assigned to is not an accident. God said, I'm going to put you

there because I need you to be my representative in that room. Please hear me. The saying, preach

the gospel and if necessary, use words is stupid. Every faithful presentation of the gospel requires

words. Words about the death of Jesus for sin and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. You're an

ambassador in your workplace. You're not there by accident. Stop whining about it and embrace

the ambassador job that God has sent you on. We are ambassadors for Christ and I love this part.

It moves me so much. God making his appeal through us. His appeal through us. God is appealing to the

soul of someone through you, through me. He's saying to that person, I love you and I have sent

my only son to die for your sins. I have risen from the dead and I extend my offer of forgiveness

to you. That's the end of Romans chapter 10 verse 21. I said one more verse. I totally lied. Verse

21, all day long God says, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. God is

saying, I am holding out my hands to you. God is saying, I am holding out my hands to you. God is

saying, I am holding out my hands to you. God is saying, I am holding out my hands to you. God is

saying, I am holding out my hands to you. God is saying, I am holding out my hands to you. Church, we are

the ambassador who God is appealing through. So you're frustrated, you're angry, you're fearful,

you're disappointed. All those things are rational, normal emotions. Take that zeal, take that fire

and channel it into being an ambassador for Jesus Christ. There are going to be lots of other things

that are going to call for your energy, call for your money, call for your emotional investment.

I'm going to tell you this. There's only one thing that changes the world and it's the good news of

Christ. That's it. We have that message. Let's take that message into every place that we go.

Ask it about your heads to close your eyes. Maybe you're here. God's moving in your heart.

You don't know Jesus.

you've been relying on good works

and you realize good works cannot get you there.

Bible says that if you'll confess with your mouth,

Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart,

God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

Put your faith in Christ.

Maybe you're here and like me,

you're frustrated with the state of the world

and brokenhearted over sorrow and pain

that people have to endure,

been zealous for other things.

And that fire in your soul needs to be channeled

into being an ambassador for Christ.