01:18 Preparing for Fellowship with Christians

05:03 The Importance of Bringing the Gospel

06:37 Giving God the Credit for Faith and Grace

13:56 The Value of Christian Community

17:29 The Importance of Physical Presence

20:40 Giving and Receiving in Fellowship

22:56 Are You a Producer or a Consumer?

26:10 Mutual Encouragement in Faith

29:05 Never Move On from the Gospel

31:36 The Obligation to Share the Gospel

35:14 Concluding Prayer and Reflection

Romans one is where we're gonna be.

2

Romans one starting in verse eight.

3

Romans one, verse eight.

4

Now, when I first started

dating people, I really, really,

5

really tried to be prepared.

6

'cause I didn't wanna be that guy

that just shows up on a date and just

7

doesn't really know what to say, right?

8

I didn't wanna show up on

the date and be like, uh, hi.

9

You know, I wanted, I

didn't wanna be awkward.

10

I wanted to be able to

have things to talk about.

11

I didn't wanna, you know, be

that awkward guy on a date.

12

So I really, really prepared.

13

I, I wanted to show up with, okay,

what sort of questions should I ask?

14

What are some good things

I should get to know?

15

I even wanted to come to

the date with like a plan.

16

Okay.

17

If the date goes well, if, if, if dinner

with this really cute girl at Mod Pizza

18

goes, well, then maybe afterward we

should go to handles and get ice cream.

19

That would be a good backup plan

to do, and hopefully, um, you

20

know, and the rest is history.

21

We should end up rapping in the car

and we ended up getting married.

22

So, um, yeah, but you,

I wanted to have a plan.

23

I wanted to have a plan.

24

I wanted to be prepared.

25

And so I came ready.

26

I stood up to that date ready.

27

I was like, okay, here's what we're like.

28

I had things that maybe we would be

good to talk about, things, maybe

29

questions that I wanted to ask,

things I wanted to know about her.

30

I, I came prepared.

31

And now it's one thing to prepare for a

date, which you should do, by the way,

32

especially gentlemen, if you're gonna ask

someone on a date, you should be prepared.

33

But also what you may not have

thought about is you should prepare

34

for your time with other Christians.

35

Whenever you show up to church on

a Sunday, whenever you show up to

36

True North on a Wednesday, whenever

you hang out with your Christian

37

friends, whenever you hang out with

anyone, you wanna show up prepared.

38

And today we're gonna see what

the Apostle Paul, the, the writer

39

of the book of Romans brings

when he wants to go see them.

40

When Paul goes to see other

Christians, what does he bring?

41

How is he prepared to talk to

them and to live with them?

42

That's what we're gonna find

out here in the book of Romans.

43

Okay, so we're gonna look at

chapter one verses eight through 15.

44

I'm gonna read it real quick and just

do some explaining and then we're gonna

45

go, go through the rest of the sermon.

46

Okay?

47

So read along with me, verse eight.

48

First, first thing Paul Paul's gonna say

in this letter, I thank my God through

49

Jesus Christ for all of you, because your

faith is proclaimed in all the world.

50

So he's thankful that

their faith is famous.

51

Romans are famous for their faith.

52

Verse nine, for God is my witness

whom I serve with my spirit

53

and the gospel of his son.

54

So he is like, I, God

knows what I'm gonna say.

55

It's definitely true.

56

What's he gonna say?

57

That without ceasing, I mention

you always in my prayers.

58

I'm always praying about you asking

that somehow by God's will I may now

59

at last succeed in coming to you.

60

So he really wants to go see them.

61

He's been praying for it a lot.

62

Verse 11, four, because I long to see

you, I really want to be with you.

63

Why?

64

So that I may impart to you some

spiritual gift to strengthen you.

65

Now we'll talk about more

about that we what that means.

66

But he's got something that he wants to

give them that's gonna make them stronger.

67

It's gonna make their souls stronger.

68

Verse 12.

69

That is, what does that mean?

70

What does that spiritual gift?

71

Well, that we may be mutually

encouraged by each other's Faith,

72

I want you to see my faith.

73

I wanna see your faith and

it's gonna be encouraging.

74

It's gonna be good for

us, both yours and mine.

75

Verse 13.

76

I don't want you to be unaware, brothers

that I have often intended to come to you.

77

Thus far I've been prevented.

78

So I've really been trying, I haven't

been able to make it yet in order that

79

I may reap some harvest among you.

80

Now what does that mean?

81

As well as among the rest of the gentiles?

82

I think that's similar to what

he's been talking about earlier.

83

He wants to be encouraged.

84

He wants to grow.

85

He wants them to grow.

86

He wants to give them this spiritual

gift, which is he just wants to help them

87

love Jesus more and follow Jesus better.

88

And that's the the result he wants to see.

89

That's the harvest he wants to gain.

90

Verse 14, I am under obligation

to both Greeks and to barbarians.

91

Now that sounds weird, Greeks.

92

Those are like the smart

people of the age barbarians.

93

Those are the not so smart people.

94

They made fun of their language 'cause

it was probably similar to German and

95

it sounded like bar, bar, bar, bar, bar.

96

So that's what they called

them, the barbarians.

97

So the Greeks, the smart people,

and the not so smart people, both

98

to the wise and to the foolish.

99

Verse 15.

100

So I am eager to preach the gospel

to you also who are in Rome.

101

So Paul, he's, he really

wants to see the Romans.

102

He really wants to give them something.

103

And the last thing he says is, I want

to preach the gospel to you guys who

104

are in Rome, are the Romans Christians.

105

Think about what we started this

letter with to those who are loved

106

by God and called to be saints.

107

Are those people Christians?

108

Yes.

109

Paul wants to preach the gospel

to the Christians in Rome.

110

Is that weird to anyone?

111

If I said, you know what we're gonna do

on Sunday with all the Christians come

112

to church, we're gonna preach the gospel.

113

Would that be kind of

weird for you or not?

114

That's what Paul's saying.

115

He's saying, when I, when I get to

Rome, you guys are all Christians.

116

You guys are all loved by God.

117

You guys are all set apart.

118

You're saved.

119

I want to preach the gospel to you.

120

That's weird.

121

That's weird, at least

from our perspective.

122

'cause we think, oh, well the

gospel is what gets people saved.

123

But what I want you to know about when

you go to hang out with Christians.

124

When you spend time at church,

when you come to True North,

125

I want you to come prepared.

126

And so our main point tonight is

when you hang out with Christians,

127

bring the gospel with you.

128

When you spend time with your brothers

and sisters in Christ on Sunday

129

morning, Wednesday night, you're

hanging out with them at school.

130

I want you to bring the gospel with you.

131

Don't leave it behind.

132

Don't forget about it.

133

Don't say, that's just for the,

the unbelievers, the gospel.

134

That's, that's the best thing you can

bring when you hang out with a Christian.

135

The gospel is the best

thing you can take with you.

136

So Paul, the first thing he does is

he gives God the credit for something.

137

He says, I thank God for something.

138

What's Paul gonna thank God for?

139

Well, let's see, verse eight.

140

What does Paul thank God for?

141

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ

for all of you, because of your faith.

142

It's famous, right?

143

It's proclaimed through all the world Now.

144

Who's the one showing the faith?

145

The Romans.

146

So why does Paul thank God?

147

Why doesn't he say, I'm so grateful

to you guys for being so awesome?

148

You guys are so faithful.

149

You guys trust God so much.

150

He's saying, I thank God for it.

151

The reason he does that is because

their faith comes from God.

152

So he's giving God the credit for it.

153

He's saying, Romans, you

guys trust God so much.

154

That's 'cause of God.

155

So I'm gonna thank God for that

because God gets the credit.

156

So our first point tonight, give

God the credit for faith and grace.

157

We'll get to that grace

part in just a second.

158

But give God the credit

for faith and grace.

159

When you see someone trusting God, you

want to give God the credit for that.

160

And to you that might seem super

elementary, there's actually

161

some ways that we don't do that.

162

Give God the credit for faith.

163

And grace.

164

Now Paul says, I'm thankful for your

faith because your faith is famous.

165

Well, how do you see faith?

166

You can't see faith, right?

167

Like, I can't see.

168

Oh, you know what?

169

This is how much Mr.

170

Clancy trusts God.

171

I can see his faith.

172

I, well, how do I see that?

173

Remember what we talked about last week?

174

Faith and obedience

are inseparable, right?

175

The obedience of faith,

it's faith and obedience.

176

They're, they're, they're always together.

177

You can't separate them.

178

How is your faith talked about?

179

Well, it's when people see this, right?

180

So what, what Paul is also saying is I'm

also thanking God for how you obey him.

181

He sees the Romans maybe

sharing the gospel with people.

182

He sees the Romans maybe

loving to hear from God's word.

183

He sees maybe, oh yeah, that that

church in Rome, they're always praying.

184

They love praying.

185

They, they meet together

and they pray all the time.

186

That church in Rome, they're so generous.

187

The church in Rome, they

love people so well.

188

They love strangers so well.

189

He sees all these things about

the church in Rome, and he

190

says, that's from your faith.

191

But all the things that you do

are a product of your faith,

192

and that comes from God.

193

So I'm gonna praise God for

what you guys are doing.

194

He's giving God the credit for

things that the Romans are doing.

195

And that's because if faith

comes from God, that means your

196

obedience comes from God as well.

197

So maybe this is a simple thing for you.

198

Do you give God the

credit when you obey him?

199

When you do something for the

Lord, do you give God the credit

200

or do you say, you know what?

201

I'm so glad that, that I did that.

202

That was such a good thing that I did.

203

And you think about yourself, you're

like, man, I read and write Bible.

204

I listen to sermons, I pray,

and you give yourself all that.

205

I worked really hard to do that.

206

You know, I really studied the Bible.

207

I really, you know, I

watched this, this sermon.

208

I listened to this thing

and I did this for me.

209

Sometimes we, we do that as

Christians, sometimes as Christians

210

we say, I did all this stuff.

211

When really Paul is saying, God did that.

212

God is the one who should get the credit

for the things that you do, which sounds

213

weird, but that's because God is the one

who gives you the, the faith to do them,

214

and also gives you the grace to do them.

215

And see, we see that even in this

same, this same verse, right?

216

I'm gonna show you some

more of verse five.

217

We, so the same, same verse, we've

received grace in apostleship.

218

So Paul's gotten grace and he's

gotten his calling as an apostle

219

to bring about obedience of faith.

220

How does he do that?

221

He preaches the gospel, so

the gospel of grace, right?

222

The, the good news of God's grace

comes to Paul and then he brings

223

it as an apostle to Rome, and then

they trust God and they obey him.

224

You see that we go from

gospel to grace to obedience.

225

That's God's progression

of how people follow him.

226

The gospel gives them grace, and that

grace produces faith and obedience.

227

That's how God thinks your good

works happen, and that's how we

228

should think our good works happen.

229

It's not, I heard a sermon, I tried

really hard and then I obeyed God.

230

God says, no, you heard the good

news and that gave you the grace and

231

the faith to do good things for God.

232

So God gets the credit.

233

'cause God's the source.

234

God's the source of all your good works.

235

Every time that you had a desire to read

the Bible, that's God's work in you.

236

Every time that you wanted to show

compassion to someone, even when

237

they were really annoying or you were

really patient with someone or really

238

gentle with someone, that's God, right?

239

Every time that, that, you

wanna be generous with someone,

240

maybe with your money or your

time, that's God at work in you.

241

So God gets the credit.

242

God's the one doing it.

243

Every time you wanted

to pray, God did that.

244

Prayer is actually God saying,

Hey, you should talk to me.

245

And then he gives you desire

to talk to him and you pray.

246

So all of these things that you do

for God, God gets the credit for them.

247

'cause they're, they all come from God.

248

Your obedience is brought about by grace.

249

Every good deed, every good thought, every

good emotion you have comes from God.

250

And so God should get the credit.

251

And so we shouldn't be

like, oh, look at me.

252

Look how godly I am.

253

Look at all the things I've done.

254

That is something that we do.

255

But other things that we might

do that this could help with

256

is maybe sometimes you think, I

could never be like that person.

257

I could never pray like that person.

258

I could never know as much as that person.

259

I could never be as

patient as that person.

260

I could never, I can never be as

excited about God as that person.

261

Well, really, why is that

person so excited about God?

262

Because of God?

263

God helped them do that.

264

God enabled them,

empowered them to do that.

265

So really you don't have to be discouraged

because the same God who get got that

266

person so excited about evangelism

can get you excited about evangelism.

267

The same God who helps that

person understand the Bible can

268

help you understand the Bible.

269

The same God who helps that person

be generous and, and trust Him, can

270

help you be generous and trust him.

271

So if you look at other people, other,

maybe you didn't grow up in a Christian

272

home, or maybe you just feel like you

don't get it as much as other people,

273

God is the one who, who gives people

the grace to obey him and to trust him.

274

So you don't have to say, well,

you know, well I'm, I'm just,

275

my parents, just, they're not as

godly as that person's parents.

276

Or, I don't know as much of

the Bible as that person.

277

Well, God is the one who

enables you to do that.

278

And so you can say, you know what?

279

The same God who helped them do that

is the one who can help me do that.

280

So you don't have to be discouraged

and think, oh, well that person

281

is so much, so much better

than me, so much Godly than me.

282

I could never be like them.

283

God is the one who gives

you the strength to do that.

284

And so you can trust him to,

to do those things as well.

285

You don't have to look at someone

and compare yourself and be like,

286

oh, I can never be like them

because God's the one who did it.

287

You can be that way because of God,

the same way you depend on God.

288

You trust him.

289

He gives you the grace to follow him.

290

So God gets the credit

for faith and grace.

291

So we shouldn't be discouraged

when we see other people and

292

we're like, oh, I'm not there yet.

293

That's okay.

294

'cause God helped him do that.

295

And also we shouldn't be prideful because

we don't wanna say, well, look at me.

296

I did all this great stuff for God.

297

'cause God's the one who helped you.

298

So we don't wanna steal God's

glory by saying, well, look at me.

299

I did so, so great.

300

I learned all these things.

301

I tried really hard.

302

That's because of God.

303

Even your own effort.

304

Maybe you did try really hard.

305

That's because of God.

306

God enables you to do those things.

307

So God gets the credit for every good

thing that happens from any Christian

308

because it's from grace through faith.

309

So you might have noticed also that

in his passage, Paul really, really,

310

really wants to see them, right?

311

Did you catch that?

312

He says it a few times.

313

God is my witness whom I

serve that without seizing.

314

I mention you all the time in my prayers

asking that by somehow, by God's will, I

315

might come to you for I long to see you.

316

He really, really, really, really,

really, really wants to see them,

317

or he really wants to see them.

318

Now, I said this to our leaders earlier.

319

Paul is writing a book

of the Bible to them.

320

He's writing the greatest

letter of all time to these

321

Reese Romans, and he's saying.

322

I wanna see you.

323

I wanna be with you.

324

There's something unique and special

about physically being with you.

325

There's something that I can do

as Apostle Paul being with you,

326

that the book of Romans can't.

327

That's crazy.

328

The book of Romans can

only do these things.

329

But me physically being with you, there's

something unique and special about that.

330

That's crazy.

331

And now in, in our age, we might

think that going together to church,

332

physically being with someone, meeting

with someone, to read the Bible,

333

meeting with someone, to pray to them

or pray with them, right, that don't

334

pray to people that's a bad idea.

335

They can't help you.

336

God has designed us to, to

physically be together with people.

337

There's something unique about that.

338

And Paul wants to do it so that

he can encourage them and so

339

that they can encourage him.

340

So, point to spend time with Christians

both to give and to get spend time with

341

Christians, both to give and to get.

342

So Paul thinks that his

letter is not enough for them.

343

He's writing 16 chapters to them

and he's saying, you know what?

344

There's, there's something special and

something unique that that could happen.

345

If I was with you,

346

there's something unique I can give

to you that I wouldn't be able to

347

give to you without this letter.

348

Now, in case you didn't get enough

of prepositions in your first

349

week at school, here you go.

350

So Paul wants to see them.

351

Why?

352

Why does he wanna see them?

353

See all the green, that those are

purpose clauses, purpose statement.

354

Whenever you see something like that

in the Bible, that something like

355

that, in the Bible, it's a purpose.

356

Why do, why does he wanna see them?

357

So that he can impart a,

some kind of spiritual gift?

358

Why?

359

To strengthen them.

360

And in case he thought that was

confusing, Paul's gonna explain it.

361

That is that we may be mutually

encouraged by each other's faith.

362

So I wanna, I wanna see you, I wanna

be together so I can strengthen

363

you and so that I can encourage

your faith and mutually so you can

364

encourage my faith to give and to

get, I want to give you encouragement

365

and I want to get encouraged by you.

366

That's what Paul wants.

367

And then something else he

wants is in order that I may

368

reap some harvest among you.

369

I think there, he's talking

about fruit of the spirit, right?

370

Galatians five, he talks about fruit.

371

He talks about love, joy, peace.

372

He wants to see that grow in them.

373

He wants to see those

qualities strengthened in them.

374

So Paul.

375

Is convinced that being together with

them can accomplish this in a unique way.

376

You can't be a Christian

without other Christians.

377

If you think that you can be a

Christian and never spend time with

378

other Christians, you're wrong.

379

You're doing it wrong.

380

If you think about all the things

that God wants Christians to do,

381

love one another, how can you

do that if you never spend time?

382

Well, I can send 'em encouraging texts.

383

Encouraging text is not the same as

physical, personal, encouragement.

384

There's something different about looking

someone in the eye and telling them

385

something that's different than a text.

386

Well, what about FaceTime?

387

Again, it's, it's different.

388

It's not the same.

389

It's something unique.

390

It tangible about being in the same

room about eye contact, intonation, and.

391

Physical presence,

three-dimensional there.

392

There's something unique about it.

393

You're in a, you can't

give someone a hug, right?

394

You can't, which sounds silly,

but you can give someone a hug

395

for the glory of God and encourage

them and comfort them, right?

396

There's something unique

about those things.

397

Take it from someone who dated

long distance for two years.

398

There's something unique about being

in person, even if all you're doing is

399

talking, there's something different.

400

You can't be a Christian

without other Christians.

401

You can't love one another the same way.

402

You can't forgive each other the same way.

403

You can't serve each other the same way.

404

You can't be patient with

someone the same way.

405

Think about all those one

another commands in the Bible.

406

You can't be a Christian

without other Christians.

407

So if you're a Christian who

thinks, well, you know what?

408

All these other Christians,

they're kind of lame.

409

They're not good enough.

410

For me, Paul would say, look,

I'm the apostle Paul and I need

411

to be around other Christians.

412

The, probably the the godliest man

who ever lived besides Jesus is

413

saying, I want to be with them.

414

And so if, if, and you're not the

apostle Paul, and so you need to

415

be around other Christians too.

416

You can't be a Christian

without other Christians.

417

So when you grow up in, in 20 years

and you have the option to go to

418

metaverse church or VR church, which you

probably will, what are you gonna do?

419

You can't obey God.

420

The same way in virtual reality

church, virtual reality, small group,

421

virtual reality, accountability

meeting, it's not the same.

422

You can't do it.

423

God made you if, if God wanted you to be

a, a hologram or an avatar, you would be,

424

God designed you to have a physical body.

425

God came down and lived in a physical

body because that's how God designed us

426

to, to live the best way for his glory.

427

So you have to be in person

together to do things.

428

As a Christian, you can't

be a lone ranger Christian.

429

You can't be an an independent Christian.

430

Right?

431

Paul would say that's like an eyeball

saying, I don't need the rest of the body.

432

An eyeball on its own not

gonna do much for you.

433

That's if, if you're a a,

do it yourself, lone ranger.

434

I don't need anyone else.

435

Christian.

436

If you're someone who never shares

anything about yourself in small

437

groups, because you wanna act

like you have your whole life

438

together, you're doing it wrong.

439

You're just like a, a, a severed

hand flopping around and you

440

think you're doing great.

441

You can't be a Christian

without other Christians.

442

But see, Paul, he wants to come.

443

Why?

444

One, to strengthen their

faith and then two to also.

445

Be encouraged.

446

He wants to give and he wants to.

447

Yes.

448

So let's focus on the give part.

449

What does he wanna give to them?

450

He wants to help them.

451

He wants to help 'em grow.

452

He wants 'em to love Jesus

more because he's there.

453

So I wanna ask you, why do you spend

time with people when you come to

454

church on Sunday, when you come to

True North on Wednesday, when you hang

455

out with your friend at lunch, your

Christian friend at lunch, or when

456

you meet up with, with your friends to

hang out with them, why are you there?

457

What are you bringing to the table?

458

Are you coming with the intention

of I want them to love Jesus more

459

when I leave than when I got here?

460

That's what Paul is saying.

461

He's saying, I wanna be in

Rome so that when I leave Rome,

462

you guys have stronger faith.

463

Have you ever thought about that before?

464

I'm coming to true North on Wednesday

so that my small group can have

465

stronger faith because I was there.

466

That's, that's the way Paul

comes prepared to church.

467

Paul comes to church on Sunday thinking.

468

I want them to love Jesus

more because I was there.

469

That's what Paul, that's what Paul thinks.

470

He says, I want, he's thinking,

I wanna ask them questions.

471

I wanna maybe share something about

myself or, or share something I learned

472

in the Bible or pray together with them.

473

I want to, I wanna do things

while I'm together with them

474

to help them love Jesus.

475

I wanna strengthen their faith.

476

I want them to maybe learn things

about being a Christian that

477

they wouldn't have known before.

478

I want them to maybe feel

encouraged because maybe they

479

struggle with the same sin I do.

480

And they heard, you know, oh, there's

someone else who feels that way.

481

Right?

482

It's not just teaching people

things, it's also sharing, like,

483

you know, I struggle with this.

484

And you say that in small groups and

maybe for the first time someone says,

485

oh man, I'm so glad that someone else

struggles with that and it's not just me.

486

And they're encouraged by that.

487

And they say, okay, it's, I can, I can

do this because they battled the sin too,

488

and they're seeing God strengthen them.

489

And I know that I can

trust God to do that too.

490

And I wouldn't have known that if

you didn't open up and say something.

491

Paul comes to to give, he comes to

church to give, he comes to hang out

492

with his Romans friends to, to give,

he wants to give them something.

493

He wants to give them faith.

494

He wants to help them love Jesus.

495

So why do you come to these things, right?

496

The way I was talking about this with

Ezekiel actually earlier, are you

497

a producer or are you a consumer?

498

Remember these things?

499

The food web, remember that?

500

You've got like the producers

and you've got your, what

501

are these primary consumers?

502

Secondary consumers.

503

Tertiary consumers and like

apex, predator, whatever, right?

504

Are when you come, when you

come to church, are, are you

505

just this guy and just taking,

taking, taking, taking, taking?

506

Or are you giving anything?

507

Do other people benefit because of you?

508

Right?

509

Is true North better because you are here?

510

Is your small group more

focused because you're there?

511

Is your small group better off?

512

Is the discussion better

because you're there at school?

513

Are your friends more

Christ-like because of you?

514

That's the question that Paul's asking.

515

Are you coming to give?

516

Are you coming to take, are you just

right because you know, you know what

517

kind of animal that's not on here because

comes and takes these things, right?

518

No one likes these things.

519

I thought about putting a

more graphic image up here of

520

parasites, but I spared you all.

521

But are you a church parasite?

522

Are you just sucking the life out of your

small group because you're distracted?

523

You're unfocused, you're goody two

shoes and, and better than everyone.

524

You look down on everyone.

525

You're not vulnerable, you're not honest.

526

You're pretending to be a Christian.

527

You, you could be a parasite.

528

You could just be sucking the

life outta your small group.

529

Don't be a parasite.

530

Come to church to give,

come to true north.

531

Come hang out with your friends to give.

532

Don't I?

533

I won't.

534

I could really talk about

like tapeworms and all that.

535

Don't you know, don't

be a tapeworm, right?

536

Don't burrow into your small group

stomach and suck all the life out of 'em.

537

Don't do that.

538

And the point of that, the reason

I, I want this to sound gross.

539

'cause it is gross, right?

540

If, if you're coming and being

a, you know what Jesus says about

541

people who cause other people to sin?

542

He said it'd be better off if you

hung up stone around your neck and

543

jumped in a lake and drowned yourself.

544

That's what Jesus says.

545

If you're causing other people to sin,

you'd be better off drowning yourself.

546

So don't come to church

and be a bad example.

547

And be a bad influence,

548

but also the positive side, right?

549

Come to church.

550

To give, come to church

to encourage people.

551

Think about how can I make

my friend love Jesus today?

552

What can I share with them that

could help them love Jesus?

553

What can I pray with them?

554

Maybe you make it your goal.

555

I wanna pray with someone

at True North on Wednesday.

556

Maybe that's what you say.

557

I just wanna, you know, and, or maybe

you say, I, I wanna come to True North

558

and my goal is to, to encourage someone.

559

I wanna think about something, you

know, oh, this person in my small group,

560

they, they just, they're, they're,

they always are honest and I appreciate

561

that, and I wanna encourage them, bless.

562

Maybe that's your goal, but

think about things like that.

563

What can I, what can I bring to the table?

564

But then also, right, you're not just

always giving, giving, giving, right?

565

You're not just the grass on the bottom

that's just always getting eaten.

566

You're, you're also getting,

when you come, Paul, he says, I

567

want to be mutually encouraged.

568

He's saying, I, I want you to

encourage me and I wanna encourage you.

569

The Apostle Paul is saying, I'm

gonna be encouraged when I visit the

570

Romans, so I don't care if you're

the Godliest person in this room.

571

You can be encouraged when you come to.

572

You should never think, well, my

small group's just not on my level.

573

I don't get anything out of it.

574

There's something wrong with you

if, if that's how you think, because

575

obviously the Apostle Paul didn't

think that, and you're not Paul, right?

576

So do you spend time with

people who help you love Jesus?

577

Are you spending time with

people who help you love Jesus?

578

That's the first thing, right?

579

Are you coming to church and

expecting someone to pour into you?

580

But also, are you easily, are

you, is it easy for you to grow?

581

I heard someone, they told me this once,

a mature Christian is easily edified.

582

A mature Christian is easily built up.

583

It's easy for them to grow because

they, they're, they're so easily they,

584

they see things about other people.

585

Man, I love that that person does that.

586

I love how that person trusts God.

587

Or, oh, I learned this in the sermon.

588

Even if I heard it all before,

it was a good reminder.

589

That's a mature Christian.

590

Someone who walks away from a sermon

thinking, oh, I heard it all before.

591

Been there, done that.

592

That's an immature Christian.

593

A mature Christian, even if they

heard everything in the sermon

594

before, says, Hey, I was reminded

of this and that really stood out to

595

me because of this, this, and this.

596

That's what mature Christians do.

597

So be someone who's easily edified.

598

There's a company, you've

probably seen this logo before.

599

I had no idea what it actually stood

for, uh, stands for Hewlett Packard.

600

But this company, they had what's called

an open door policy, and what they did

601

is any level of the CEO all the way down,

anyone from the business could come into

602

their office and give 'em ideas, and

that was their, their whole, the whole

603

thing about the company was if the, even

like the, the lowest level worker has

604

an idea, we want to hear it because it

might help us, it might make us better.

605

Right?

606

Think about, it'd be like on a football

team if like, oh, if the janitor has an

607

idea about how to make our football team

better, he can go tell the head coach.

608

We need to have that kind of attitude

with other Christians, you can

609

learn something from any Christian.

610

There's, I had my small group leader,

pastor Evan, actually, he told

611

me this, he said, every person in

the room can teach you something.

612

Every person in the room

can teach you something.

613

That's the kind of attitude this company

had, and that's the kind of attitude

614

I want you to have when you come to

church, when you come to True North,

615

when you hang out with your friends.

616

I can learn something from this

person, maybe not directly, but God can

617

teach me something from this person.

618

God can teach me something

from this small group.

619

God can teach me something

from this sermon.

620

So we wanna spend time with Christians

to give, to encourage them, to

621

strengthen their faith and to get,

because we know that we can learn

622

from everyone and God can use anyone

to teach us something that we need.

623

But lastly, you probably noticed that Paul

was excited to preach the gospel, right?

624

He was, he's eager to preach the

gospel to, to the people in Rome.

625

How often do you think

Paul preached the gospel?

626

A lot.

627

Right?

628

And he's still excited about it.

629

He's still excited.

630

He's like, I am so excited to preach

the gospel to people who've already

631

heard it and been saved by it.

632

Isn't that cool?

633

The, the Romans know the gospel.

634

The Romans have been saved.

635

The Romans clearly have good theology.

636

'cause he wrote them this giant

letter about theology and he didn't

637

say anything really bad about them.

638

Some of Paul's letters, he's

like, Hey guys, come on.

639

We gotta like you.

640

You should be better by now, right?

641

Um, like, you know, in most La Paul's

letters, he's like super happy at the

642

beginning and he's praising God for them.

643

Some letters like Galatians, he's like, he

doesn't even say anything like positive.

644

He's like, what happened, guys?

645

I left and what went wrong?

646

That's how Galatians is.

647

So Rome is, is overall good letter, but

he's excited to preach the gospel to them.

648

Paul is never bored of it.

649

Remember last week, he, he's talking about

all about the gospel gospel's about Jesus,

650

and he's talking so much about Jesus.

651

Paul is not bored of the gospel.

652

Go.

653

Paul is eager to preach the gospel.

654

So 0.3

655

for all of us.

656

Never move on from the gospel.

657

Paul is preaching the gospel to

Christians and he expects them to grow.

658

He expects it to strengthen them.

659

He expects it to encourage them, and

Paul expects to be encouraged as well.

660

Paul is so excited about the gospel and

honestly, excitement is always the best

661

motive for telling anyone anything, right?

662

When you're excited about something,

you just naturally wanna tell people.

663

When you hear a song you

really like, you're like, oh,

664

guys, have you seen this song?

665

Or you see a funny reel and you're like,

oh, I'm gonna send this to everyone.

666

Excitement just naturally

causes you to share things.

667

So if you're out there and you're

scared to share the gospel, the best

668

thing to do is get excited about it.

669

Be like, Paul, be more excited.

670

That's why Paul always was

sharing the gospel because he

671

was so excited about the gospel.

672

So what do you get excited about?

673

Think about that.

674

That says a lot about you.

675

What do I get excited about?

676

What do I get bored by?

677

That also says a lot about you.

678

Is the gospel boring to you?

679

Is it like, oh yeah, I've

heard that before Jesus died.

680

Cool.

681

Is that boring or is that exciting?

682

Jesus died for me.

683

Jesus loved me enough to to die.

684

Jesus rose from the dead and

defeated death so I don't have

685

to be scared of it anymore.

686

That's exciting.

687

So sharing the gospel is motivated

by excitement in the gospel.

688

And Paul, we see this in verses 14 and 15.

689

He thinks the Romans need the gospel.

690

He says he's under obligation.

691

He's like in debt to all these

people to preach the gospel to them.

692

So what's interesting here, this,

this word, I'm not gonna explain all

693

this, I don't have time, but this

word under obligation, Paul's saying

694

it's like I'm in debt to all these

people to share the gospel with them.

695

I think some of us, we

think about the gospel.

696

We think the gospel puts me in debt to

God, and then we try to live the rest

697

of our Christian life trying to repay

God for all that he's done for me.

698

That's not grace.

699

If I give you grace and you try to pay

me back, that's not how Grace works.

700

You don't pay someone back for grace.

701

That'd be like if you got a

birthday present and you said,

702

oh, how much did this cost you?

703

Okay, let me get you however much money

this cost you and give it back, right?

704

Let's say you got a $50 gift card to

Target for your birthday and you were

705

like, oh, thanks for the gift here.

706

Here's $50.

707

It's not a gift anymore.

708

You just paid for it.

709

Paul is not in debt to God

because he received grace.

710

See that?

711

That's the connection to verse five.

712

Paul received grace and apostleship.

713

He's not in debt to God.

714

He's in debt to other people.

715

Paul's not trying to repay God for

saving him 'cause then it wouldn't

716

be grace anymore if you're, that's

you trying to earn your salvation.

717

Have you ever thought about that?

718

That way if you're trying to repay

God, it's actually you trying to

719

earn your salvation because you're

trying to get rid of your debt to God.

720

If you're out of debt to

God, then you earned it.

721

That's not how grace works.

722

You don't repay God for being good to you.

723

The way Grace works is it puts Paul in

debt to other people who might not have

724

received that grace yet, because they

haven't heard the same message he has.

725

And so he wants to go tell them.

726

That's why he's in debt to them.

727

He's in debt to other people

because they need to hear the

728

same message that he heard.

729

So he's under obligation to share the

gospel, to share grace with people.

730

So maybe you're a Christian

who's selfish with the gospel.

731

Maybe you, you got saved and

you're like, great, I'm saved.

732

But I don't want those people to

be saved 'cause they're bad people.

733

What does that say about you?

734

Right?

735

That says that you think you

deserved it and they didn't.

736

Right?

737

If you, if you don't wanna share the

gospel with someone because you don't

738

like them, or you don't think they're

good enough, or they're too sinful.

739

You're saying that you weren't too sinful.

740

You're saying that there was

something about you that made you

741

you special to receive the gospel.

742

Something about you that

made you deserve it.

743

So don't be selfish

with the gospel, right?

744

Don't, don't withhold it from people.

745

You're actually obligated

to share it with people.

746

That's what Paul's saying here.

747

You don't choose who's worthy

of the gospel 'cause no

748

one's worthy of the gospel.

749

But then also, do you still think you

need the gospel As a Christian, Paul

750

thinks the Romans need the gospel.

751

And so the gospel helps Christians live.

752

It doesn't just help unbelievers get

saved, it helps Christians live, right?

753

And we are, hopefully, we'll talk about

that in your 10 minutes of small groups.

754

But the, the gospel helps Christians live.

755

And so, so when you spend time

with Christians, make sure

756

you bring the gospel with you.

757

Don't leave the gospel at your conversion.

758

Take it with you.

759

Give it to everyone you know,

Christians and non-Christians alike.

760

Let's pray and we'll get to small groups.

761

God thank you that you wanted

to share the gospel with us.

762

You didn't have to, you weren't

obligated to do anything good for us.

763

The only obligation you had was to be a

good judge and to send us to hell, but

764

instead you showed great mercy to us.

765

And so I pray that we would be

amazed by that, that we would

766

be, um, amazed that you would

forgive us, that you would love us.

767

We would not be like the unforgiving

servant in the parable that your son told

768

that, um, is forgiven a lot and then won't

forgive other people who sin against him.

769

I pray that we would be overwhelmed by

the gospel, excited about the gospel,

770

and that we would come to, to our

time with other Christians ready to

771

love them, ready to encourage them.

772

Pray this in Jesus name.

773

Amen