Latest / Heart Check Podcast / Christianity 101 (What is the Gospel?)
Transcript
- 0:00If I was to come up to you and ask you what is the gospel?
- 0:03Would you be able Yo, what's up, everybody?
- 0:19Welcome back to Heart Check podcast.
- 0:21I'm your host, Pastelos. Yeah.
- 0:25Let's go. Hey, I'm so excited to be back
- 0:28with you guys. My heart check community if
- 0:30you're new here, thanks for tuning in wherever you're
- 0:33listening, watching YouTube, Spotify, Apple podcast.
- 0:37I love you guys. Thank you so much for the
- 0:39support Today, though, we get to dive back into our Christianity
- 0:42one-on-one series and for our Christianity one-on-one series
- 0:46today we're going to be talking about what is the gospel?
- 0:50If someone was to come up to you and ask you, hey, what is the
- 0:54gospel? What is the gospel?
- 0:55What does that even mean? We here in the church, we hear
- 0:58others tell us that we need to know the gospel.
- 1:00Well, what is the gospel? Not the church answer, not the
- 1:03vague answer, but the real clear biblical answer.
- 1:07Would you be able to give an answer to somebody if they came
- 1:10up to you and said, what is the gospel and what does it mean?
- 1:14So my hope is through this episode, you can leave it with
- 1:18at least a framework, at least with being equipped to give
- 1:22someone an answer to that question in your life.
- 1:25If you are reaching people at your workplace, if you are
- 1:28connecting the family members, whoever that may be for you're
- 1:31trying to reach people for Jesus.
- 1:33And this question is one that comes up when they say what is
- 1:36even the gospel? Because you say that the gospel
- 1:38is this good news about Jesus, but what is the good news of
- 1:41Jesus? I hope that this episode equips
- 1:43you and transforms you and helps you be more prepared to give an
- 1:48answer for the hope that you have, as Peter says we should.
- 1:51Because a lot of people say they believe in Jesus, but don't
- 1:55actually understand what he actually came to do.
- 1:58And here's the truth. The gospel isn't good advice.
- 2:02It's good news. It's the greatest news to ever
- 2:05be told to ever hear, to ever receive.
- 2:07It is good news, not just good advice.
- 2:10It's not about what you need to do for God.
- 2:12It's about what God has already done for you.
- 2:15So in this episode, we're breaking down the gospel in a
- 2:18simple, clear way, in a way that you won't forget, because this
- 2:23isn't just an important message in Christianity, this is the
- 2:26most important message you will ever hear.
- 2:29So if you're even tuning in right now and you don't know the
- 2:31gospel, you've never put your faith in Jesus.
- 2:33I hope you stay with me. I hope you listen.
- 2:36I hope this is clear. I hope the Holy Spirit softens
- 2:39your heart and opens up your eyes and opens up your ears to
- 2:41hear and receive and believe. And the God who created you and
- 2:44loves you, who sent His Son to live a perfect life that you
- 2:47can't, to die a death that you deserve because of your sin that
- 2:50separated you from your Heavenly Father.
- 2:52Now through his resurrection, because Jesus is alive, that he
- 2:55defeated death, and now through your faith in Him, you receive
- 2:58eternal life. I hope that you stay with me on
- 3:01this because it is the greatest news you can ever hear because
- 3:04it gives you eternal life. And so the framework we're going
- 3:07to, we're going to break this down.
- 3:08We're going to break the gospel down into four simple parts.
- 3:11God send Jesus response. But first, I kind of want to
- 3:15give you a little bit of a way. If someone came to you and asked
- 3:19you what is the gospel? I just kind of did it right now
- 3:23a couple, 30 seconds ago. Keep it simple.
- 3:26I think sometimes when we ask this question or sometimes when
- 3:29I've walked with people and tried to help teach them on what
- 3:32it means to teach the gospel. I think we we think so broad and
- 3:36so big that I need to know all of scripture.
- 3:38That sometimes that even binds us.
- 3:41That we don't go and talk to our Co worker or we don't be active
- 3:44in spreading the good news or even telling people that we
- 3:46believe in Jesus 'cause we get nervous that we feel like we're
- 3:50not equipped enough to do that. That you may be somebody who
- 3:52sits there and goes, man, I can't tell my Co worker about
- 3:55Jesus. I don't even fully know know all
- 3:57the scriptures. I just put my faith in Jesus or
- 3:59I'm new to this or I don't really want to sound stupid or
- 4:02what if they ask me questions I don't know.
- 4:05Take a deep breath with me. You do not need to know
- 4:09everything. You will not know everything.
- 4:13But we do have an opportunity, I word it that way.
- 4:18I would also say obligation. Obligation and opportunity to
- 4:23spread the good news that we've received, that Jesus uses a
- 4:26parabolic, a man who has received this treasure and he
- 4:29goes and he buries it and he hides it and he lets it stay
- 4:33there. And then there's the other man
- 4:34that he gives this, that he gives this treasure to.
- 4:36And the man goes and double S it, he, he spreads it, it grows.
- 4:41What he's talking about is that treasure is the good news, the
- 4:44gospel that we received the inheritance from Jesus of
- 4:48eternal life because of our faith in him.
- 4:50That now we know the way to heaven, the way back to God the
- 4:53Father. And we should take that now and
- 4:55go spread it to tell others about it, to tell them about the
- 4:59good news of Jesus Christ. And some people, they kind of
- 5:02receive it. They put their faith in Jesus
- 5:04and then they just hold on to it, that they bury it as this
- 5:06man did and they just put it away.
- 5:08They don't ever go and let anybody else know about it.
- 5:11And if you've put your faith in Jesus in Scripture, it calls us
- 5:14ambassadors for Jesus. We are representatives that
- 5:16while we are here on earth, we represent heaven.
- 5:19We represent Jesus to people who don't know him.
- 5:22So we have an opportunity and obligation out of we are
- 5:26compelled by the love of God that's over us to tell others
- 5:29about the love of God that we're compelled to do that.
- 5:32So I just want you to hear don't think so big.
- 5:35Don't get overwhelmed and don't get stuck to where you don't
- 5:39tell anybody about Jesus because Satan, Satan keeps whispering in
- 5:42your ears that you can't do it. You don't know the Gospel well
- 5:45enough. You don't know Jesus well
- 5:46enough. You still struggle with sin.
- 5:48You're not perfect. You can't go tell others about
- 5:50him. That is from Satan and that's
- 5:52not true. That's from your flesh.
- 5:54You do not need to be a pastor. Being the Word for years after
- 5:58year should you 100%. But you don't need to know the
- 6:01Word perfectly. There is things in the Word that
- 6:03I will never be able to fully explain as someone who's studied
- 6:06the Word for so many years, who is a teacher of the Word.
- 6:10There is things that I will never fully understand.
- 6:11Why? Because He is God and that makes
- 6:14me have even more faith in Him that there's things that I would
- 6:16never fully understand because His ways are above my ways, His
- 6:20thoughts are above my thoughts, He is God.
- 6:23I will never fully understand God.
- 6:25Do I strive to 100% and do I strive to tell others about Him?
- 6:28Of course. Because now I know that life,
- 6:32life beyond this world can only be found in Jesus and Christ
- 6:36alone. So I want others to come to
- 6:38heaven with me. So I'm going to tell them about
- 6:40Jesus. I'm going to tell them about the
- 6:41good news that they should hear and come to know.
- 6:45And so I'm going to kind of give you a little bit here.
- 6:48So a simple way, if someone comes up to you and says, what
- 6:51is the gospel? Respond with this.
- 6:54The gospel is this, that because of our sin that the Bible says
- 6:59all have fallen short of the glory.
- 7:01God, everybody is a Sinner, you and me, 'cause I know some
- 7:04people come to you and some people in this world believe.
- 7:07Why would I need Jesus? I don't need Jesus.
- 7:09I got everything. But the reality is every single
- 7:12person has sinned, has fallen short, has missed the mark, has
- 7:16sinned just means we've missed the mark to God's commands and
- 7:20God's way of living that every single person has sinned and
- 7:23falls short. The glory of God.
- 7:24So you let them know, first and foremost, you and I are sinners,
- 7:28that we've made choices, we've lied, we've stolen, we've
- 7:30thought things about people that go against God's design for our
- 7:33lives, His way of living. That we've missed the mark that
- 7:37we are sinners, but because of sin that that's now separated us
- 7:40from God 'cause God is holy and perfect and righteous.
- 7:44So God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son to
- 7:49die a death that you and I deserve because of our sin.
- 7:52That Jesus lived a perfect life and did not sin, but through his
- 7:56death that he took on the sin of the world for us.
- 8:00That three days later he rose from the grave and that through
- 8:04his resurrection now those who put their faith in Jesus will
- 8:07also be raised from the grave. So it's broken down like this.
- 8:12We are sinners. God sent his Son Jesus, who is
- 8:16God in flesh to live a perfect life that we could not live to
- 8:20die a death that you and I deserves for our sin that
- 8:23separated us from God. But three days later Jesus rose
- 8:27from the grave and now is alive and on the right hand throne of
- 8:31God. And it says as Jesus tells us, I
- 8:34am the way, the truth and the life.
- 8:35No one can come to the Father except through me.
- 8:38That now if we put our faith in Jesus that we are made right
- 8:41with God again. That our relationship that had
- 8:44been separated because of our sin is restored back because of
- 8:48our faith in Jesus. That when God now he sees us, he
- 8:51sees Jesus as the sacrificial lamb that died for our sins,
- 8:56that he took our place, and that that was the punishment and that
- 9:01was the fulfillment once and for all.
- 9:04That Jesus died for our sins once and for all, and all we do
- 9:07is respond with faith in Him. So I want you to remember that
- 9:12it is sin. Jesus's perfect life, Jesus's
- 9:18perfect death, and Jesus's perfect resurrection, that now
- 9:21we have eternal life if we put our faith in him.
- 9:24Simple framework. Now I know there's a lot of
- 9:26things that people throw. There's some amazing ones out
- 9:28there that you can research a lot of amazing ways.
- 9:31I just want to give you something simple for me when
- 9:34someone asks that question. Obviously we we're going to get
- 9:37into the depth of the gospel and what the gospel means.
- 9:40That's revealed in the four gospel eyewitness accounts.
- 9:43But I just wanted you to have a little bit of a idea, just to
- 9:46hopefully equip you a little bit that you can think through those
- 9:49four things that sin separated from God.
- 9:52Jesus lived a perfect life that we couldn't die the death that
- 9:54we deserved. And three days later, later
- 9:57laser later rose from the grave. And now that when we put our
- 10:00faith in Him, we will also raise from the grave after this life
- 10:03because we received eternal life through him.
- 10:06Remember those four things. And if you remember nothing
- 10:09else, God is holy, we are sinful, Jesus saves and we
- 10:13respond to that good news. And so we're going to dive in a
- 10:17little bit. So number one, number one point,
- 10:19God. Let's start here because
- 10:21everything begins with who God is.
- 10:24And we've talked about who Jesus is.
- 10:26I hope you go back to these messages of or these episodes of
- 10:29Christianity want to want to dive back into of what it means
- 10:32of who Jesus is. But we have to begin with who
- 10:35God is. God is holy, God is perfect, God
- 10:40is just. God is creator of everything.
- 10:44Revelation says He is worthy of all glory, honor and power.
- 10:49And here's what that means. God is perfect and he created us
- 10:54to have a relationship with Him, that the creator of the universe
- 10:58created all the things of the world.
- 11:00And he looked and he said it was good after he created his
- 11:04creation, when he created you and me, that God looked and said
- 11:07it was good after he created us humans.
- 11:11We weren't created randomly. We were created for
- 11:14relationship, to know him, to walk with him, to live in His
- 11:18presence. But in order for that
- 11:20relationship to work, there's a standard.
- 11:22God has a standard that we're called to live to live up to,
- 11:26that He has a standard for our lives to obey and to fear him,
- 11:31to live according to His teachings and commands, not just
- 11:35try your best, not just be a good person or to try to reach
- 11:39perfection, cause none of us will ever be perfect.
- 11:43But the reality is that standard that we're called to live to is
- 11:46what has separated us from God. That God is holy, God is
- 11:50righteous, God is just, God is perfect, but because of sin we
- 11:54were now separated but from God. That because of Adam and Eve's
- 11:58choice in the Garden of Eden to eat from the tree that they were
- 12:01not supposed to eat from, to listen to Satan twist God's
- 12:05word, to then step into something that was disobedience
- 12:08to God's sin then entered in this world and it separated us
- 12:12from God because God is holy and perfect and we are not.
- 12:16But as we just touched on, Romans 323 says, for all have
- 12:19sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- 12:22Not some bad people, not some really bad people, not people
- 12:24that have done those really horrible things.
- 12:26They've fallen short of the glory God.
- 12:27No, all of us, every single person falls short of the glory
- 12:32God. Everybody is a Sinner.
- 12:34All of us are broken. All of us are separated from God
- 12:38because of it. And here's the reality.
- 12:39Sin separates, distorts, and destroys Satan, who's called the
- 12:45thief in John 1010. The thief, Satan has come to
- 12:49steal, kill, and destroy. That's who he is.
- 12:51That's his MO. That's what it looks like when
- 12:55we live in our sin. Sin has separate us.
- 12:58Sin is what leads us to live a life that reflects Satan, that
- 13:01Satan has just come to steal, kill and destroy us.
- 13:05But because of Jesus, we can find life to the full.
- 13:10Sin separates us from God. It distorts who we were created
- 13:13to be, and it destroys the life God designed for us.
- 13:18And don't miss this. The problem isn't just what
- 13:21we've done, it's what we've fallen short of who God is.
- 13:25It's that we fall short of who God created us to be.
- 13:29Because God is perfect and we are not.
- 13:32And no amount of good works or doing good things, or no amount
- 13:35of effort. No amount of trying harder will
- 13:39close that gap that will bridge us back to God the Father.
- 13:42We could not do it on our own. We cannot make ourselves be
- 13:47connected back to God by our own efforts.
- 13:50So we were stuck. Stuck in our sin, Stuck
- 13:54separated from God our Father. God who created us for
- 13:57relationship with him. We were separated from him.
- 14:00So who's going to bridge this gap?
- 14:02Who's going to help us be back with God, our Father who created
- 14:06us? Because we were stuck.
- 14:07We were separated from God and unable to fix ourselves.
- 14:11This is why we needed a Savior. So when we present that gospel
- 14:16message that sin is what separated us from God and we
- 14:19needed a Savior, all of us need a Savior.
- 14:25So that is when Jesus enters in. This is where everything changes
- 14:31because God didn't leave us in our sin, He stepped in for us.
- 14:36John 316 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one,
- 14:41one and only Son, that whoever puts their faith in him will not
- 14:44perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son.
- 14:49God stepped in God as Jesus is described in Philippians,
- 14:54Philippians, it says he, he took off his divine privileges and
- 14:59stepped and was born in a Manger as a baby, that he was still
- 15:02fully God and fully man that Jesus, God in flesh, Emmanuel,
- 15:06God with us, He stepped into our reality.
- 15:10He came to earth that God stepped in.
- 15:14Jesus came to earth fully God fully manned.
- 15:16But before we go any further, we have to understand something
- 15:19that is core to the gospel message.
- 15:21And honestly, a lot of people miss this.
- 15:24Jesus is not just a savior. He is the Christ.
- 15:28He is the Messiah. And that word Christ isn't just
- 15:32Jesus's last name. That isn't what it means.
- 15:34It's a title. Jesus Christ Christ means He was
- 15:39the Anointed 1 the one God promised, the one Israel had
- 15:44been waiting for for generations.
- 15:46All throughout the Old Testament there were promises and
- 15:49prophecies about a coming Savior, a king, a deliverer, A
- 15:54rescuer, and the people of Israel were waiting for this
- 15:57Messiah to come and restore everything to bring them back to
- 16:01God the Father. The people of Old Testament, the
- 16:03Israelites, God's chosen people, were hearing about a savior, an
- 16:08anointed 1, the Messiah that will come and deliver them from
- 16:12this world that would save them. They had been hearing about this
- 16:15for generations, passing this down to their kids and grandkids
- 16:19and their kids to come generation after generation.
- 16:23But the thing was, they thought he would come with some
- 16:27political power, overthrow their enemies, and set up an earthly
- 16:32Kingdom. But Jesus came to do something
- 16:34way deeper. He didn't just come to fix their
- 16:37circumstances, He came to save their souls.
- 16:41And this is so important. The gospel only makes sense when
- 16:44you understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah because this
- 16:48means he fulfills God's promises, all the promises long
- 16:52ago, all the promises he spoke through the prophets in the Old
- 16:56Testament. He completes the story of
- 16:58scripture and he inaugurates God's Kingdom on earth that now
- 17:03because of Jesus being the anointed 1, the Messiah that was
- 17:06promised long ago, he ushers in the Kingdom of God onto earth
- 17:10through his followers, through the bride of Christ, the church.
- 17:14We are now Kingdom on earth. And This is why the gospels, you
- 17:19constantly see this emphasis of Jesus is the Christ, he is the
- 17:24Messiah, He is the anointed 1. He is the one who was promised
- 17:27long ago through the prophets of the old that this is the one God
- 17:31was speaking about. It is Jesus because everything
- 17:34was pointing to him. And here's the reality.
- 17:37If Jesus isn't the Messiah, then he's not the Savior.
- 17:42But if he is, then this changes everything.
- 17:47This means our way to heaven is through Jesus.
- 17:50That the one who came to save us is Jesus, the one who is
- 17:54promised long ago, the one who we were hearing about for the
- 17:57Jewish people. We are trying to let them know
- 18:01Matthew and and Mark and Luke and John.
- 18:03They're, they're speaking through the Gospels, especially
- 18:06through the Gospel of Matthew. His emphasis is speaking to the
- 18:09Jewish people that this is the Messiah, the one we were told
- 18:13about, the one you learned about in in Sunday school, the one you
- 18:17read in the Torah. Jesus is the Messiah, the
- 18:20anointed one that we kept learning about that we were
- 18:22hoping for and excited for, that we are waiting for.
- 18:26It is him, it changes everything.
- 18:29And here's the gospel in one sentence.
- 18:31Jesus lived a life that we couldn't live and died the death
- 18:34that we deserved. And three days later he rose
- 18:36from the grave. And now whoever puts their faith
- 18:39in him will also raise from the grave and receive eternal life.
- 18:42Jesus lived. He was real.
- 18:45This is not just a made-up fairy tale.
- 18:47This is real life, that there was Jesus the Christ who came to
- 18:51earth. God connected and bridged the
- 18:54gap between US and him. That sin has separated us from
- 18:57Him. And now through our faith in
- 18:59Jesus, we have a right relationship with God.
- 19:01Again, this is good news. This is the greatest news that
- 19:04anyone could hear. Jesus lived a perfect life, no
- 19:08sin, no failure. And then he went to the cross,
- 19:11not for his sin, but for ours. And this is key.
- 19:15The cross wasn't an accident, it was an exchange.
- 19:19Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness.
- 19:23He took our punishment and gave us his forgiveness.
- 19:27Now when God the Father looks down on his children, the one
- 19:29who have put their faith in Jesus, he sees Jesus.
- 19:32He doesn't see old Carlos. He doesn't see the sin in my
- 19:35life. He doesn't see who I used to be.
- 19:37He sees the new creation in Christ Jesus because of my faith
- 19:41in His Son who who exchanged who I was for him, that now when I
- 19:45put my faith in Jesus, I've died to my old self and been risen to
- 19:48a new life in Christ. The cross is where justice and
- 19:52mercy met because God is just. Sin had to be paid for, but God
- 19:59is also loving, so he paid it himself.
- 20:03That's an incredible thing. God is just.
- 20:04God is loving. God is both things.
- 20:07But God, because he's so just sin, had to be paid for the
- 20:10evil, the evil deeds, the wickedness of the world, the
- 20:13choices that people make that are not living up to God's
- 20:16glorious standards. There has to be a punishment for
- 20:19that. But God's also so loving that He
- 20:22sent his Son to take the punishment for our sins.
- 20:25Man, He's an incredible and good father.
- 20:28Amen. And Jesus didn't say Jesus
- 20:31didn't stay dead. He rose again.
- 20:34There's no other religion, no other, no other religion or
- 20:38belief system that can say that their God died and rose from the
- 20:42grave, that they defeated death. Muhammad's still in the grave.
- 20:45Joseph Smith is still in the grave.
- 20:47All these false theologies, they're still in the grave.
- 20:49They're never rose from the grave.
- 20:50But Jesus did, defeating sin, defeating death, proving he is
- 20:55who he said he is. Jesus is God and hear this
- 21:00clearly. You don't save yourself.
- 21:02Jesus already did the work. He already said it is finished,
- 21:06that it was through his work on the cross, through his death,
- 21:09through his resurrection that we can find eternal life, not by
- 21:13anything we do. It's by grace through faith that
- 21:17we are saved. You can't earn what Jesus
- 21:20already paid for. So if you're in a place or a
- 21:23part of a church that you kind of hear things that it's faith
- 21:26in Jesus, plus faith in Jesus, plus you got to do this faith in
- 21:30Jesus, plus you got to speak in tongues.
- 21:32Faith in Jesus, plus you got to do these good things.
- 21:35Faith in Jesus, plus you got to believe this faith in Jesus,
- 21:38plus you have to be baptized. Then you're fully saved.
- 21:41Oh, there's going to be some people who ain't gonna like
- 21:43that. When you read through the gospel
- 21:46message, it's faith in Jesus alone that saves you.
- 21:50It's repenting of our sins and putting our faith in him.
- 21:53That is what saves us, not faith in Jesus.
- 21:57Plus something else is if anybody who you hear is adding
- 22:01to the gospel, that is a false theology that there is no
- 22:05additional to the gospel. We have what's added on to us
- 22:09because of what Jesus has done on the cross for us, that we
- 22:13don't do anything to earn our salvation.
- 22:15It's by putting our faith in the one who accomplished our
- 22:18salvation through his life, his death, and His resurrection, and
- 22:22his name is Jesus, Yeshua. We put our faith in him, our
- 22:26Messiah, our anointed One, the one who was promised long ago.
- 22:30So if anyone wants to add to that, they're preaching a false
- 22:34gospel. There is no adding to that.
- 22:36There is only faith in the One who said it is finished.
- 22:40Which brings us to our final peace.
- 22:43The gospel isn't just something to understand, it's an
- 22:46invitation to respond. Because knowing about Jesus
- 22:49doesn't save you, Responding to Him does.
- 22:54Confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believing in your
- 22:58heart that God raised him from the dead.
- 23:00You will be saved. It's not just knowing about
- 23:03Jesus. It's not it's not just knowledge
- 23:05about God. It's faith in Jesus, trusting in
- 23:09who he was and who he is, and surrendering, surrendering your
- 23:13life to him. So what is the response for us
- 23:17if we've heard this gospel message, if you're listening
- 23:19right now and you've heard the gospel, you've been preached,
- 23:23the good news, what's the response?
- 23:25It's this repent and turn from your sins.
- 23:28Repentance means that I'm walking on a path that's leading
- 23:31me from God and who he created me to be and who he calls me to
- 23:35be. And now I recognize that and I
- 23:38repent. I turn from the path I'm on
- 23:40that's leading me from God and I turn towards God.
- 23:43That's repentance that I turn to God, that I, that I confess my
- 23:47sins, that I acknowledge my sins and I repent of them.
- 23:49And now I turn to God and I follow his path and #2 you have
- 23:54to confess with your mouth. Now you confess your belief that
- 23:58you confess that Jesus is Lord. This is a big piece and we've
- 24:03talked about this before. Confession of him as Lord is so
- 24:07important because again, there's people as Jesus says, let me,
- 24:10let me use Jesus's words. Jesus says even the demons
- 24:14believe. Even the demons believe in Jesus
- 24:17and they shudder. So you can believe in Jesus but
- 24:21not live a life that looks transformed from that belief in
- 24:24Jesus. So when we confess him, Lord of
- 24:27our lives, we're saying, Jesus, you have full authority and
- 24:30control over all of me, that I'm serving you.
- 24:34I love. I was preaching on this last
- 24:36night. I love.
- 24:36In Ephesians chapter 3 verse one, Paul says Paul is writing
- 24:41as a prisoner of Jesus Christ and some people can read that
- 24:46and go, Paul, weren't you in house arrest under the Roman
- 24:48authorities? Weren't you a prisoner of Rome?
- 24:50No, no, no, Paul's like, let me state something clearly right
- 24:54now. I'm not a prisoner of Rome.
- 24:56I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I am in chains for Jesus because
- 24:59he is my Lord. He has full authority over me.
- 25:02Whatever is happening in my life, whether good or bad, from
- 25:06the world standards, I'm here because of Jesus and it's all
- 25:09for him to give him glory. Even these chains.
- 25:12I'll praise his name. And so hear me confession of
- 25:16Jesus as Lord follows repentance that we are confessing and we're
- 25:20giving him full authority of our lives.
- 25:22And then to follow that confession is to believe.
- 25:25As Romans 10/9 says. I've said it now two times,
- 25:28Romans 10/9 says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is
- 25:32Lord and then believe in your heart that God raised him from
- 25:35the dead, you will be saved. Belief in Jesus's resurrection
- 25:40is key. As Paul says in First
- 25:42Corinthians 15, without the without the resurrection, all of
- 25:46this, all of our faith is useless.
- 25:48If Jesus didn't raise from the grave, then we are still dead in
- 25:51our sins. So what we're preaching
- 25:53literally is useless and worthless.
- 25:56But Jesus did raise from the grave, so now you believe in
- 25:59your heart that God raised him from the dead.
- 26:01As as Jesus says, blessed are those who believe in me, who
- 26:04didn't see me, who didn't see him raised from the gate as
- 26:08Thomas who was doubting him, got to touch his resurrected body,
- 26:12touch the wounds. He got to see face to face the
- 26:14resurrected Christ. And we don't.
- 26:17But Jesus says, man, you believe because you've seen me, Thomas.
- 26:21But blessed are those who believe and didn't see me.
- 26:25Blessed are you. If you're listening to this and
- 26:26you've put your faith in Jesus and you've never seen Jesus face
- 26:29to face, that is a miracle and that is a blessing from God.
- 26:34So repent, confess, believe, and last but not least, follow.
- 26:39Follow Jesus if you love him, obey his commandments.
- 26:44Follow Jesus with all of your heart.
- 26:48Make him the one you run after that you seek, that you search
- 26:52out as as the Psalm says, search me, O God, search.
- 26:56Let him search you. Let him transform you to to
- 27:00delight in the Lord first and foremost.
- 27:02And then he will give you the desires of your heart too.
- 27:05To seek first the Kingdom above all else.
- 27:07To be so focused on Christ that I'm following him every single
- 27:11day. That he's who I'm running after.
- 27:14He's who I'm fixated on. He's who I'm focused on that I
- 27:17want to run after Jesus, that I want to follow him with all of
- 27:22my life. So first, repent, confess,
- 27:27believe, and follow. You don't just agree with the
- 27:30gospel, you surrender to it. This isn't just information,
- 27:35guys. As we talk about this a lot in
- 27:36this Heart Check podcast. This isn't, this isn't just
- 27:39informational, this is transformational.
- 27:42This should transform us. This truth in our life should be
- 27:46life changing. When we hear the good news, when
- 27:48we've received the Lord of Lords, that we put our faith in
- 27:51him, that we trust Him, that we follow Him, our lives should
- 27:55look different. This should be transformational.
- 27:58We're not who we used to be because of Christ.
- 28:03Cause Christianity isn't about trying harder, it's about
- 28:07trusting Jesus. And this is important.
- 28:10If you could earn your salvation, Jesus didn't need to
- 28:13die, but he did because it was the only way back to a right
- 28:18relationship with God the Father.
- 28:21So let's wrap it all up with this.
- 28:24God is holy, we are sinful, Jesus saves and we get to
- 28:29respond. That's the gospel, that sin
- 28:34entered this world, that God created this world perfectly.
- 28:37But because of Adam and Eve's choices, sin enter this world
- 28:40and we are all sinners. As Romans 3 says, all fall short
- 28:45of the glory of God. But then Jesus came to live a
- 28:48life that you and I can't live. He lived a perfect life, and
- 28:53after that perfect life he lived, He died a death that you
- 28:55and I deserve. But he didn't stay dead.
- 28:58Three days later he rose from the grave and this is truth,
- 29:03this is historical, this is facts, and that now he sits on
- 29:07the right hand throne of God and that anybody who puts their
- 29:10faith in Him will also be saved and will also raise from the
- 29:14grave. It is simple, but it is powerful
- 29:16and it is life changing. And I pray that you come to put
- 29:20your faith in the one who saves your soul, 'cause Jesus is the
- 29:24only way, the only truth and the only life.
- 29:26Nothing can be found outside of Him.
- 29:30The gospel isn't just something you hear once, it's something
- 29:33you build your life upon. It's not Step 1 of Christianity,
- 29:38it's the foundation of all of it.
- 29:41And if you've never responded to it, this is your moment.
- 29:46Don't think man, I got, I got some more life to live as young
- 29:50adult Carlos in my early 20s who grew up in the church.
- 29:54So many moments in my life, I could feel the tug from the Holy
- 29:57Spirit drawn me to Jesus, drawn me back to Jesus, and I
- 30:01constantly would have that tug and pull of the world of my
- 30:07flesh. And I still wanted to enjoy a
- 30:09little bit more weed. I wanted to drink a little bit
- 30:11more alcohol. I wanted to sleep around with a
- 30:13few more women. I wanted to enjoy these fleshy
- 30:15desires in my life. That I was prideful, that I
- 30:18wanted it to be about me a little bit longer.
- 30:22That as Jesus says, to save your life, you must give up your
- 30:25life. And I wasn't ready to give up my
- 30:27life. And I hope you hear this today
- 30:30if you are in that predicament, if you're in a place of man.
- 30:33I believe in Jesus, but I haven't confessed him, Lord,
- 30:36that I haven't given him full authority in my life.
- 30:38I pray that today is the day. Don't wait till tomorrow,
- 30:41because tomorrow's not promised. Carlos could have not woken up
- 30:44one of those days. And I don't even want to think
- 30:48about what that would look like next 'cause I know what that
- 30:51would be. And I don't want that for you.
- 30:53And I pray that right now you just heard the gospel message,
- 30:56the good news, the greatest news you could ever hear.
- 30:59Put your faith in the one who saves you.
- 31:01Put the put your faith in the one who created you.
- 31:03Put your faith in the one who has purpose for you beyond this
- 31:06world. That the grass isn't always
- 31:08greener. I can promise you that 'cause
- 31:10it. With every single drink, with
- 31:11every single smoke, with every single sexual choice I made, I
- 31:15continue to feel more and more empty, continue to felt more and
- 31:18more stuck, continue to felt more and more hopeless, continue
- 31:21to felt more and more far from the one who created me and
- 31:25called me. So I pray for you.
- 31:27Don't wait till tomorrow, don't wait until later.
- 31:31Right now, put your faith in Jesus, confess him as Lord, and
- 31:34believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
- 31:36Because Jesus didn't just come to inform you, He came to save
- 31:40you. He didn't come.
- 31:42He didn't come just to hang out. He came to show you the way to
- 31:46eternal life. If this episode helped you
- 31:49understand the gospel more clearly, share it with someone.
- 31:53Send this podcast episode out to someone who you've been praying
- 31:55for or someone who struggles with how do I go about telling
- 31:59others about Jesus? Cause hear me clearly guys, too
- 32:01many times that the enemy does not want you to go and do this.
- 32:04Of course he does it. This is the life changing
- 32:06message of the gospel. This is what changes people's
- 32:09hearts And and as Roman says, how beautiful are the hands and
- 32:12feet that bring the gospel message.
- 32:15We are now Christ ambassadors on earth.
- 32:18So how can people believe if they did not hear?
- 32:21As Roman says, they have to hear it first to believe in it.
- 32:24And we get to go and share that life changing message with them
- 32:29'cause this message changes everything.
- 32:31And remember the gospel isn't about what you do for God, it's
- 32:35about what God has already done for you.
- 32:38Let me pray so we can get up out of here.
- 32:42Heavenly Father, I love you. Heavenly Father, I thank you for
- 32:45who you are. God, you are good, God, you are
- 32:48loving, God you are kind, but God, you are just.
- 32:51God you are holy and God, you are righteous, and God, you are
- 32:54sovereign. And God, I thank you so much for
- 32:56this good news that we even get to know about this mysterious
- 33:00plan that you had, that you have had long ago that others didn't
- 33:04even know about, That now you've revealed to us, God, that we
- 33:06know what the good news is, that you've lifted the veil, that you
- 33:09softened our hearts, God, that we're able to accept you, Jesus
- 33:13as our Lord and Savior, that the cross isn't foolishness to us
- 33:16anymore, but it's the power that saves us.
- 33:19And I pray God, whoever's listening, that they find
- 33:22comfort in the power of your gospel message, that they found
- 33:26comfort in your love and your mercy.
- 33:28And God, I pray that they put your, they put their faith in
- 33:30you and that they trust in you, that they repent, that they
- 33:33confess and they believe and they follow you, Jesus, till the
- 33:36end of their days on this earth. I love you, Lord, I thank you.
- 33:39And I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.