A New Year's Resolution For 2021 01/03/21

Well, good morning, and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. This is the 3rd of January. So I hope everyone had a safe New Year's Eve New Year's day, and I hope you are having a happy New Year here in 2021. Well, we want to welcome you today to new Grace Baptist Church, and if you're not a member of our church, and you're listening to this on one of our other platforms, we would like to welcome you and thank you for being here. And as I said, we're new Grace Baptist Church, where in the Raleigh-Durham triangle area of North Carolina. Well today I want us to think about and talk about in this message is about New Year's resolution and matter fact the title. This sermon is a New Year's resolution for 2021. Well, you know many people have made resolutions already for this year and probably some of you have also many people want to exercise more in the new year or maybe you have something you want to do concerning your job or maybe family or or your children or something that you want to do more of or maybe less of this year in so you've made a resolution for that. Well today I want us to think about A resolution probably all Christians should make and that is that we would have a greater impact and a greater influence for Christianity in this coming year of 2021. And we going to look at a man today who's won the greatest Christians that the Bible speaks of and he wrote a lot of the New Testament course, I'm talkin about the Apostle Paul. So if you have your Bibles with you, you can go ahead and turn to Romans chapter one. We just going to look at 3 vs today and that is verses 14 through 16 in Romans 1 and what we're going to learn from this was what what it was that motivated the Apostle Paul the passion that he had in his life and we going to see that his passion was that he was captivated by the gospel now if you were all remember In the Book of John Jesus made Seven, I am statements and in some of the statements that he made was he says he said I am the Good Shepherd and then he said I am the door and the remember he said I am the bread of life and then one of the last I am statements Jesus made was I am the resurrection and the life and that would be a fruitful study for us sometime just to go to the Book of John and to study the seven. I am statements of Jesus, but the Apostle Paul in the scripture that we're going to look at today. He also made 3, I am statements and I believe if for the year 2021 if we can make these statements in these statements can be true of us, then we will surely have a greater Christian influence in this new year. So in this study we go Study the heart of a man who was totally abandoned to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if you can look at a person and get beneath the surface and you can get down to the heart and understand their motivation in their passion in their philosophy of life. Then you going to be able to understand him and I think in these three versus here that we can understand that Paul was captivated by the gospel. So if you have your Bible, I want you to turn the Romans 1 and we going to read verses 14 to 16. I'm going to put them on the screen here for you to see y'all but you follow along in your Bible. So we are in Romans 1 verses 14 to 16 in this is what the Bible says. Paul says, I am a debtor both to the Greeks and two barbarians both to wise and unwise so as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to Salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the great now, do you notice these three? I am statements In this passage in verse 14. Paul says, I am a debtor and then inverse 15 Paul says, I am ready to preach the gospel and then in verse 16 Paul says for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ nephew put these three Iams together, you're going to understand what motivated the greatest Pioneer and missionary and spokesman of the church who ever lived he preached and when was a missionary just a few short years after Christ ascended to heaven and amazingly when Paul went to heaven Christian Church in almost every major city in the Roman Empire. You see he was just a small man who had a heart that was on fire for God and he was able to say I am debtor. I am ready and I am not ashamed and how important it is for each of us to agree with the Apostle Paul here and to be able to say the same three things and if we will will have a greater Christian influence this coming year Paul certainly wanted ever believe her to be like him in that regard because he said in Corinthians. He said his bu followers of me even as I also follow Christ. So in this lesson, we going to look beneath the surface of Paul's life and see what our lives would look like if we will imitate him and I think what we're going to discover is if we will imitate Paul we also will be a debtor Will be ready and we will not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So what I want to do just give you three points today. About these three, I am statements and they'll be a few sub points to go along with these and the first point is simply this we need to be as Paul was we need to be faithful to the obligations of the gospel. And we see that first of all when Paul says I am debtor you see that tells me that Paul was faithful to the obligations of the Gospel in other words. He was in debt to the gospel and remember and Romans. I think the very first verse of chapter 1 Paul call himself a servant or a bondservant in a bondservant was literally someone who had been purchased and then who wanted to serve his master willingly and voluntarily and Paul wrote. Remember he wrote to the Chris and he says you are bought with a price here in Corinthians. He said be not ye Servants of men soap. Are you saying that Christ have bought you be Servants of Christ? So there's no question that Paul saw himself as a debtor, but who did Paul see himself to add edit to whom did he see himself a debtor? Well, I think three different people if you will or groups and I put them here on the screen force and I think if we're going to see ourselves as a dead or like the Apostle Paul a we will be deader to the one above us and you see Paul first of all saw himself as a debtor to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Christ is above us now. Do you see yourself as a debtor to Christ? Do you see yourself in debt to Jesus or do you say well to wait a minute? I thought you said salvation was free and it didn't cost anything for us and it's a gift. What how can I be indebted to someone who voluntarily gives me a gift for friends are salve. Can is free to us but don't we sing the words Jesus Paid It all and all to him. I wiped all to him. I owe you see nothing in life is free including our Eternal salvation. Jesus Christ paid for our salvation and gave it to us as a gift and I am a debtor to the one who hung on that cross in agony and shed his blood on that crossed for me friend. We are indebted to him. We are to give our life to him. You see he paid for my life with his life. And if we imitate the Apostle Paul, we're going to see ourselves as a debtor to Christ. So number one, we are dead or to the one above us. But number two we are better to the ones behind you say, what do you mean by that? Well along with the Apostle Paul. We are indebted to the heroes of the past now, just think about Apostle Paul. Paul was a debtor to Stephen Stephen was martyred for his faith which Paul held his coat and he witnessed Paul was add a door to the Old Testament prophets who preach the word faithfully and Israel down through see I'm just turned to Hebrews chapter 12 and it speaks of many Abraham and Moses and David and just many more Heroes of the faith in which we are indebted to we are indebted to those who wrote the Bible without the Bible we wouldn't have it. And so we are indebted to and I think some of the features that I listen to preach sometime and some of the books that they have written that I have read over the years and that has meant so much to me. We are indebted to those who are behind us or those who came before us and then there are many who have lived in our day to whom we are indebted to Just think about this and course. We're no we're not meeting at church. Now, we're doing this virtual, but just think about who paid for the nice warm and beautiful church building that you sit in in each Sunday who taught your Sunday school lessons when you were a child who led you to Christ. Was it a parent? Was it a mentor? Was it a Sunday school teacher. Was it your pastor think of all the teachers that you had not necessarily Sunday school teachers, but maybe teachers in school who loved you and cared for you and who motivated you you see we can look to those behind us and see many have sacrificed that we might enjoy an abundant spiritual life in friends. We are indebted to them all so you think of this when Paul says I am a debtor And we can say the same thing. We're indebted to the one above us Jesus Christ. We're indebted to the ones behind us or before us the all the saints in the parents and the teachers and those who have mentored us and then thirdly and see. We are a debtor to the ones around us. Not only the one above us not only the ones behind this but also indebted to those around us. Look at what the Apostle Paul said inverse XIV. He says I am dead or both to the Greeks and to The Barbarians both to the wise and to the unwise and so when he says Greeks and barbarians, he's talkin about the cultured people and the non cultured people. He's talking about the up and out and he's talkin about the down-and-out. He's talkin about the educated and he's talking about the ignorant. He's talkin about the black and the white he's talking about the rich and the poor he's saying everybody needs to know Jesus. So we are indebted to everyone who is around us. Now. Here's what it means. Give me an example of what it means to be dead or to those around us. Let's say that you were charged by the governor. Of the state to deliver a pardon to a man that was on death row in state prison and let's say that the governor gives you his pardon and he says you go and take them and I want this man to be pardoned because tonight he's supposed to die of lethal injection. Well, you take the paper and all of a sudden you get distracted with your own business and you forget all about that man until you read about his execution in the paper the next morning and then it hits you you take your hand and you feel in your pocket and you feel that document that the governor gave you that would have saved his life, but you failed to deliver it on time. My friends lesson you and I have the gospel message that will save every person that is sentenced to Eternal death. Remember, we're all born Sinners and we're all born with a death sentence over our head and we are under a debt. We are under an obligation to deliver that message. But the question is will we or we will we get so distracted with her own Affairs that we fail to pay our debt to those around us. Just think of all the people you work with all the neighbors that you have all the family members that you have that may not be safe friends. If we don't share the gospel message with them. It's just like having that pardon in our pocket and we never use it and we never share it with them and they died to spend an eternity separated from friends. We have the message. We have the document of the gospel and we need to be debtor to the ones around us. So the first Things that we need to understand is that we liked all we need to say I am a debtor and we need to be faithful to the obligations of the Gospel faithful dead or to the one above us that are to the ones behind us and debtor to the ones around the smell number to not only our way to be faithful to the obligations of the Gospel, but we need to be flexible for opportunities for the gospel. And this is what Paul says in verse 15 II I am indicates his flexibility. He says in verse 15 so as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. Also you see Rome was high on his itinerary. Why was Paul able to be so flexible to go wherever the Lord sent him? I think it's because Paul was not afraid to die. You see he was not afraid he was flexible for opportunities for the gospel in that way. He was able to say I am ready. Remember pause one who said to live is Christ and to die is gain not friends on Ashley. Are you and I are we that flexible are we as flexible as the Apostle Paul? Well, you say well, I don't have that many opportunities and I'm not a preacher anyway, so this doesn't concern me with free and it does concern you you don't have to be a preacher to spread the gospel. You can be you can be someone who's in the grocery store talking to someone or at a movie theater at the ballgame or shopping. There's always plenty of opportunities to share the gospel in and to encourage other people. So what I've done here is I put three ways that we can show that we Are ready and the first one is this and we need to ask ourselves this morning this and if we want to have a greater Christian influence this coming year then we need to be ready in three ways. Here's the first one. Are you ready to exalt the Savior, you know many people when they give their testimony or something or they telling people something they they don't exalt Jesus. They're afraid to say anything about Jesus. They're afraid to say anything about God and then all of a sudden we we become self-assertive and we talkin about our gifts and our talents and our sales as if we can save ourselves friends. Listen when you would someone ask you about why you different this way or or why is it that you can go through turmoil in your life in trouble, but you go through it in a different way. We need to be ready to exalt the Savior. We need to be ready to tell people is because of Christ and what he did for us on the cross is because of God in heaven it's because of the spirit that he's put into my heart and like the holy spirit that helps me to live and to do these things that I do we are all we are always to be ready to exalt the Savior. You don't have to be a preacher to exalt the Savior. You don't have to be a theologian to exalt the Savior we can just give God the praise and worship him with us number one was another way that we can be flexible for the opportunities is we need to be ready to Evangel Eye Centers arena suite remember we have the document in our pocket you that we have the parts. We know the message that we need to tell people and we need to be ready to evangelize centers wherever we are where the rest at the ballgame the grocery store someone you work with we are to be ready to tell others about the gospel and we don't have to be a preacher to do that and then thirdly Are you ready to edify the Saints exalt the savior of Angela Eye Centers and edify the Saints. It's amazing how I had a person asked me not too long ago. They asked me this question. They say can you be a Christian and not go to church and I said, well, yes you can I said you can you can be safe and not go to church and he said well, that's kind of what I like. I just don't like being around people in the church is is not as not what it should be and I rather just be safe and stay home and watch TV and listen to preachers on their boyfriends that you can do that you can be saved and not go to church. You can be a Christian and not go to church but friends, you're not a very good Christian if you don't go to church because that's what Jesus died for the church. Jesus died for those of us who have placed faith in him and we come and we meet together on Sundays and Wednesday so that we can encourage one another we can pray for one another. So that we can confront was another rebuke one another love one another with that's why we come to church and it's and it's our job as Christians to come and to edify each other and friends. If if you think you can be a Christian and not go to church, which I guess you can but you're just not a very good Christian if you don't want to be with God's people so tall says I am ready to preach the gospel so friends. Let me ask you this more. You ready? Are you ready to exalt the Savior? Are you ready to Praise Jesus and give him the glory in front of other people. Are you ready to evangelize a sentence? Remember last year? We started the Year. Talk about Hoosier one. And it was an Evangelistic series of messages the pick one person and to go after them this year one person that you knows not say are you ready to evangelize centers? And thirdly? Are you ready to edify the Saints? Are you ready to get involved and in to be the person that God wants you to be and to edify in to encourage and to and to love the Saints and to build them up? That's what Christ would have us to do. So. Number one we are to be faithful to the obligation of the gospel. And that means that we are debtors and we're dead or to the one above us. We're dead or to those who are behind us who came before us and where daddy took those who are around us. Secondly. We're to be flexible for the opportunities of the Gospel. We always will have opportunities to exalt the Savior to evangelize centers and to edify the Saints. Well, we have one more and we're going to close and that is simply this if we're going to have a greater influence in 2021. We need to be Fearless towards the opposition to the gospel. And that's what Paul said here in this third. I am statement if we read it is going to complete the picture and this is what Paul says in verse 16 for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of price for it is the power of God and salvation everyone that believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek well friends there were many reasons in Paul's day while weak person might be ashamed of the Gospel or why you may have a church that opens up and it's kind of like a closet Church. They didn't want anyone to know because they could be killed for doing that Roman didn't like that. So but just as it was being even today there's reasons why many people are ashamed of the Gospel ashamed of the gospel because of what people Am I say to you maybe a student at a university somewhere and you afraid to speak up for Christ because you going to be showing you going to be silenced you going to be laughed at you going to be called a bigoted? There's many reasons even today that people are fearful toward the opposition to the gospel. And that's why we need to learn from the Apostle Paul because Indies versus here, he gives us four areas of the Gospel that he says we should not be ashamed of and I'm going to put them up on the screen right now and I'm going to say a few words about each one. And number one is simply this we should not be ashamed of the person of the Gospel you see in the first place. The gospel of Christ was identified with the four people back then a Jewish Carpenter who was crucified now, can you imagine going to Rome with this might and its power and all the armies and all the Education there in the intellectuals there. Can you imagine go in there and say why I want to tell you about the son of a Jewish Carpenter who died for your sins. It's kind of like young people today going off to college and telling their professors in classrooms. I want to tell you about a carpenter who died for your sins. What do you think would happen in those classrooms? You see Rome had no appreciation for the Jews and why should they because they had over taking the lamp? Why should wrong listen to anything that would come out of a Concord place and if Rome had no appreciation for Jews how much less would they have for Christians? Because they just consider them just some irritating religious sect Christians were the scum of the earth in that day and even Paul when he went to Rome he went as a prisoner, but see how tall was bold for the Lord Jesus anyway, and he was fearless and he was not a shame. You see we can't be ashamed of the person of the gospel and that person is Jesus Christ. Now I want to ask you a question. A very poignant question. Are you ashamed of the Gospel? Now, let me ask you are you a shame? To go to work and put a Bible on your desk. Or you just stick it under a drawer somewhere and cover it up. Oh, you actually go to work and take your Bible and read it on your brakes. Are you ashamed to do that or when you go to cafeteria menu said around with all your co-workers Are you ashamed mean to Bow your head in prayer in the cafeteria before you eat? Are you ashamed to pray in front of them are you ashamed to invite people to know Jesus Christ friends? Listen Are you ashamed of the one who died for you? Will you shouldn't be I think of all the 60 70 billion or so people who have lived on this Earth during recorded history. We follow the one Who has had the greatest impact of anyone who has ever lived the Bible says that the name of Jesus is above the names. All names it's above the name of all the scientists all the great philosophers all the doctors all the inventors all the Pioneers all the technology engineers. None have done what Christ has done in free and if Paul was not ashamed of him in the first few years of the expansion of the Gospel. Why should we be ashamed of him two thousand years later after seeing all the lies that the gospel has changed what Paul is saying here? He is saying I am not ashamed of the person of the Gospel. He was not ashamed so he says in verse 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That's the person of the Gospel. But then he says something else. He says that he's not ashamed of the purpose of the gospel and I'll look at it again in verse 16. It says I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That's the person of the Gospel but then he says for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it. That's the purpose of the Gospel now here a few weeks ago. I was sitting watching TV and it was some political talk show on and and they were talking about how mankind can save planet Earth from destruction and from wreckage and they just was on about how we can save the world from global warming and how we can save it from racism and they were just talking about all the education that if we had that we could just save our world and I thought to myself how vain how absolutely foolish and silly what they're saying. They're trying everything they can to save civilization. In friends listen to gospel is not intended to save civilization from wreckage. The gospel was intended to say people from the wreckage of civilization Christ didn't come at some social engineer, but he came as the savior of mankind man's greatest need is not global warming and it's not racism man's greatest need is that our sins would be forgiven. That's why I cry sent us a savior and not a banker or some intellectual or not an educator. He sent us a savior. That's why Luke says where the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now. I know that there's many kinds of losses in life and it's tragic to lose your health or as tragic to lose all your money. Your wealth is tragic to lose friends and loved ones in your life. But friend how much more tragic would it be to lose your soul? The Bible says what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world? Ben yet lose his own soul. So how could we be ashamed of the Gospel when the gospel is the only thing that can help this world today? We don't need a bunch of social engineers and we don't need psychiatrist and psychologist and global warming scientists to save this world. What was we not trying to save the world? We're trying to save people from this wreck world. It's been wrecked ever since the Garden of Eden. You see the gospel is only thing that can make harlots. Holy drunkard sober and adulterous pure. The gospel is the only thing that can give hope that is steadfast that is true and that will last for eternity friend. That's the purpose of the gospel and we can't be ashamed of the person of the gospel and we cannot be ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel. Well, there's another one. Call speaks up and we shouldn't be ashamed of the power of the Gospel. You said any purpose is going to fall flat on its face. If it has no power and Paul knew that the gospel and look at it in verse 16 is the power of God unto salvation. Now the word he uses here for power is the Greek word from which we get our English word dynamite and dynamic. Now, the world is enamored with power politicians are enamored with power befriends. There's only one power that can wash and make you whiter than snow and that is the incredible power the dynamic power of the Gospel in friends. When you receive Christ. You become a vessel of dynamic tower. God puts the Holy Spirit within you you have the power of God inside of you when you when you are saved the Bible says that Things have passed away behold all things are new. He gives us a new heart. He puts Dynamic power in to our life. So don't be ashamed of the power of God. It don't be ashamed to stand up and to speak up and to hold up under the pressure of a Godless culture. We have the power of God within us and Paul says, I'm not ashamed. Of the gospel of Christ. He said I'm not ashamed of the person I'm not ashamed of the person of the Gospel. He said I'm not ashamed of the purpose of the gospel and I'm not ashamed of the power of the gospel and then there's one more. Impala says that he was not ashamed of the plan of the Gospel. You see here it is. Here's the plan of the gospel and we see it in first 16. And the Bible says here in verse 16. To everyone that believes now think about that what it says here. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ a person. Breed is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes to the Jew first and also the Greek aren't you glad that there's no conditions on being saved friends. You don't have to read your Bible straight through in a year to get saved. You don't have to get baptized to get saved. You don't have to give a certain amount of money to the church to be saved. All you have to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be safe God simple and wonderful and glorious plan is that anybody anywhere anytime can say Lord Jesus Come into my heart forgive me of my sins and save me and friends if you'll say that he will you see Paul was not ashamed to offer a gospel who's playing only included one element and that is to He didn't care if it made him look simple. He didn't care if it made him look unsophisticated. You see he wasn't building a religion with a set of rules. He was offering a relationship with the Savior the savior of whom he was not ashamed to friend. You want to have more Christian influence in your life this year at work and at home and in your neighborhood within you have to be able to say with the Apostle Paul these three I am statements you going to have to say I am debtor you going to have to be faithful to the obligation of the Gospel you going to have to say I'm deader to the one above me to Christ. To those who have come behind me the heroes of the past and I am debtor to those around me. You're going to have to say that I am flexible for opportunities of the Gospel. In other words. You going to have to say I am ready. I'm ready to exalt the Savior. I'm ready to evangelize centers. I'm ready to edify the Saints and you going to have to say I am not ashamed of the Gospel you going to have to be Fearless to the opposition of the gospel and you can't be ashamed of the purpose the person the power or the plan of the gospel and friends if you can answer I am along with Paul. Then in 2021 the world is going to know who you are and soon they will know who Jesus is as well. Well, let's pray father. We do. Thank you and praise you today Lord for this portion of scripture and Lord. I pray today that we would all be greater influencers of Christianity in our world and in our communities in this upcoming 2021 the father if we going to be we're going to have to be like the Apostle Paul we're going to have to be able to make these statements that we're dead it to those around us behind us into the one above us that we're ready to preach the gospel where the preacher or not we're going to be ready where they're at work or the grocery store at home out jogging wherever we are. We're going to be ready to exalt Our Savior. We're going to be ready to evangelize centers and to edify the Saints at church. And Lord help us to be Fearless towards the opposition help us to never be ashamed of you your person your purpose your power or your plan. And if we can say these three, I am statements this year. We're going to have a greater influence in 2021 and we may just turn this world upside down forest in Christ's name. I do pray. Amen. Well, I'm glad that you was able to join us today and I hope everyone has a great week and I will be sending out probably an email to all the church members this week. Let them know where I'm at. As far as the surgery mean if you may know that the surgery was has been canceled and so I'm going to be doing that at a later date maybe several months down the road, but I'll see. How to email and and talk about that sometime this week. Well, I hope everyone has a great week and we will be talking to everyone soon. God bless you.