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A Picture of the Full Life | Ricky Sarthou — Transcript

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0:23Good morning, everybody!
0:25Welcome to the first Sunday of December!
0:27Hallelujah!
0:29My! God is the God of time.
0:35And once upon a time, He stepped
0:37out of time, into history, and here
0:40we all are because He did that.
0:43We’ve been talking about Living The Full Life.
0:47And it's a life that Jesus
0:49intends for each and every
0:51person who comes to faith in Him.
0:54But you know, this doesn't mean
0:56that we will all be gazillionaires —
0:59maybe some of us will, I don't know;
1:00if that happens to you,
1:02remember us — but it means, well,
1:06let's put it this way: this "full life" —
1:08if it were a picture,
1:10what would it look like?
1:12Is there a pattern that you and
1:14I can observe, and at least say,
1:16"if I pattern
1:18my life after this, I will know
1:20that I am living the full life
1:23that Jesus intends for me."
1:24So that's why this message
1:26today is so important for all of us.
1:28We will be looking at the
1:29remainder of chapter 15 and
1:32quite a bit of the 16th as well.
1:34We won't look at each and every verse,
1:37but it will show us, actually, very
1:39clearly from God's word, that The Full Life
1:43has a picture, and we need to pattern our
1:46lives after what that picture looks like.
1:48But before we go there,
1:51do you recall this saying — "A
1:55picture is worth a thousand words"?
1:58How many of you remember that?
1:59You're familiar with that?
2:00We're not exactly sure who actually
2:03invented that sentence.
2:05Maybe his name is Anonymous,
2:07you know, like many of these
2:09famous sayings are attributed to
2:10Anonymous. But it's true.
2:12And so we ask ourselves, "if we
2:15were to put The Full Life into a
2:17picture, what would it look like?"
2:20Because, indeed, we agree that
2:22a picture paints a thousand words.
2:24Let me give an example
2:25of a picture, and then I want
2:27you to tell the person next to
2:28you what words enter your mind.
2:32Is that okay?
2:33Let me show you a picture.
2:35Here you go.
2:36Look at this picture.
2:37So tell the person next to
2:39you, what words come into your
2:40mind when you see this picture.
2:43Okay, so words like, "aaww" — is "aaww" a word?
2:47"Cute", "innocence", "discovery", "curiosity".
2:52What about "gigil"?
2:53Anybody have, like, "gigil" in the words,
2:55you know? By the way, this is a
2:57picture of my youngest grandchild.
3:00Yeah.
3:00She — now you're saying, "aaww" —
3:02see. Yeah, she's two.
3:05So, like I'm saying, you know, some
3:07pictures can leave you speechless,
3:08but really, in your mind, words
3:12are playing out, right?
3:15And so today we're going to talk about
3:17this: A Picture of The Full Life.
3:20What does it look like?
3:22And how can we pattern our lives
3:24after that, by the grace of God.
3:26And so, like I said, in
3:28the remainder of chapter 15, as
3:30we look at the life of the Apostle
3:31Paul, we'll realize that there
3:34is a picture of this "full life".
3:36But you know what?
3:37More than that, I'll tell you this:
3:39The entire book of Romans — the entire book —
3:43is actually a picture of The Full Life.
3:45What do I mean?
3:47Remember, we've been looking at this,
3:49this pattern or this
3:51breakdown of the book of Romans.
3:53This is actually, the entire thing
3:55is a picture of The Full Life.
3:57We begin as we realize what our problem
3:59is, and our biggest problem is sin.
4:02And God opens our spiritual eyes
4:04and we realize we need to be saved,
4:06we cannot save ourselves;
4:08the gospel becomes real,
4:09we embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
4:12And so we are made righteous —
4:15the perfect and holy righteousness
4:17of Jesus Christ is imputed into our
4:20empty, bankrupt, spiritual bank account.
4:24That's what happens.
4:25And then The Full Life begins
4:27to blossom. Sanctification —
4:29where do we get the power to live
4:31righteously? The Holy Spirit takes
4:32up residence in our lives,
4:35and we begin to realize that living
4:38by His power, we are able to live a
4:40life of obedience that pleases God.
4:43And then Paul kind of seemed to have
4:47taken a detour in chapters nine to
4:4911 when he put up Israel as, like,
4:53"Exhibit A" of the sovereignty of God.
4:55But it's not a detour because we realize
4:58the reason why you and I are here is
5:00precisely because of God's sovereign plan.
5:03That when the gospel was preached
5:04to the Jews, they rejected
5:05it and they rejected [the] Messiah.
5:08And so Paul was sent on his
5:10original and ultimate mission,
5:12along with many others, to preach
5:13the gospel to the Gentiles.
5:15And that's why you and
5:16I are believers today.
5:19And finally, in our last season: Service —
5:23what do we do for the rest of our lives?
5:27Well, therefore, because of the
5:28mercies of God, we offer up our
5:30bodies as a living sacrifice.
5:33And we live the rest of our
5:35days on Earth in service to the
5:38God to whom we owe everything.
5:41So folks, does that make sense to
5:43everyone, that the entire book of
5:45Romans is a picture of "the full life"?
5:49Amen or amen?
5:51Yes!
5:52So the question is this:
5:56here is an empty picture frame —
5:59this is reserved for
6:01a picture of your life.
6:04So you, folks, who are in this hall
6:06today— special shout out to our
6:09friends from CCF North EDSA—
6:13all of you who are joining online,
6:16this picture frame is reserved
6:18for a picture of your life.
6:20And if your life were to be translated
6:23and placed in the midst of this
6:24picture frame, what would it look like?
6:27What words would your life
6:30elicit, and would they be words
6:34that describe The Full Life?
6:37And again, that's why this message is
6:40so critical — in whatever, I guess,
6:44stage we are in our spiritual journey.
6:48So, as I said earlier, we will be looking
6:50at the life of the Apostle Paul.
6:54Not all of the details, but in the rest of
6:57chapter 15, maybe unbeknownst to him as
7:01he was writing the rest of the chapter,
7:03he's actually giving us a picture,
7:06maybe not a comprehensive picture, but a
7:09good enough picture of what The Full Life
7:11is like — what are its basic components.
7:14And so as we look at
7:17what Paul is talking about
7:18in the rest of chapter 15, we can
7:20say, "Is that true about my life?
7:23Is that the picture of my life?"
7:25So let's go to our main message
7:28today, A Picture of The Full Life.
7:30Again, this is not exhaustive,
7:33but it is based on the text
7:34that we will go through today.
7:36And there are at least, at
7:37least four components to the
7:40picture of The Full Life.
7:42A person living The Full Life is, first
7:44of all, a Recipient of God's Grace;
7:47second, that person is a
7:49Minister of God's Gospel;
7:53third, the person living The Full
7:55Life is an Instrument of God's Power;
8:00and, finally, a person living
8:02The Full Life is a what —
8:05A Servant of God's People.
8:08Again, you can add other stuff
8:11into this picture, but based on what
8:12we will read, these are four components
8:17of the picture of The Full Life, based
8:20on what the Apostle Paul had written
8:23in the remainder of chapter 15.
8:24So let's go there together. In Romans 15:14,
8:29this is what we read: "And concerning
8:31you, my brethren, I myself also am
8:33convinced that you yourselves are full
8:35of goodness filled with all knowledge
8:38and able to admonish one another."
8:40Paul had some very kind and encouraging
8:42words to say to the Christians
8:44in Rome, whom he had never met at
8:46this point, and he's saying, "you
8:47know, I really trust [that] the Lord is
8:49doing an amazing work in your life."
8:51However, he said in verse 15, "But I
8:54have written very boldly to you on
8:56some points so as to remind you again..."
8:59So Paul never missed the opportunity
9:02to, as we say in CCF,
9:05over communicate some very important things.
9:08And in the chapters that Pastor
9:10Peter had just taken us through,
9:12you know, this whole idea about unity
9:15in the body of Christ, and loving one
9:16another, and the whole world will
9:19know we are disciples of God if we
9:20love one another, and concentrating
9:22on the essentials, and having liberty
9:24in the non-essentials, and so forth.
9:26So these things Paul had
9:28to really emphasize.
9:30But even if he was, apparently,
9:33exercising a great degree of, shall
9:35we say, spiritual, or even, fatherly
9:39authority over his audience,
9:42he said he only does that (v.15) "...because of
9:46the grace that was given me from God."
9:51In other words, he's saying, "whatever I
9:53am today, whatever I'm doing, whatever
9:56it seems I may have accomplished;
9:58and even the reason why I'm able to
10:00tell you these things, and why I love you
10:02so much, and why my life has come this
10:05far, all of it is because of one word."
10:07What is that word?
10:09Grace.
10:10"I am a recipient of the grace of God."
10:14How do we know that?
10:14He said, (v.15) "the grace that was given to me."
10:19And you know Paul never let his
10:21audience, and he never let himself
10:23forget the fact that he's merely
10:27a recipient of the grace of God.
10:30For example, further back down in Romans
10:34chapter 12, he said, (v.3) "For through the
10:35grace given to me, I say to
10:39everyone among you..." In 1 Corinthians 3:10, he
10:41said, "According to the grace of God,
10:44which was given to me..." He never forgot
10:48that he is a product of the grace of God —
10:52nothing more, nothing less.
10:55And even in— elsewhere in
10:571 Corinthians 15:10, he said, "But by the
10:59grace of God, I am what I am...
11:02I labored even more than all of
11:04them" — you know, the other apostles —
11:06and yet, he said, it's not about me.
11:09It's "[yet] not I,
11:12but the grace of God with me."
11:15So, folks, I guess the first question
11:17to us today is, "Is your story,
11:21is my story, a story of the grace of God?"
11:24I pray it is. And I know for many of
11:26you, you know, that's what it is.
11:28You know, and as Paul look back at his
11:30life, if you read in Philippians
11:33chapter three, for example, which we won't
11:35show, but you can look it up yourself.
11:38He talked about his cultural,
11:44social, and religious pedigree, right?
11:46He said, "I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews
11:48from the tribe of Benjamin.
11:50I was a Pharisee..." Et cetera, et cetera.
11:52So when it came to, you know,
11:53being a full-blooded Jew, not a
11:55convert to Judaism; he was
11:58discipled, or raised, or educated
12:00only by the best in the law of God;
12:02and he was zealous, and he really believed
12:05that he was doing the right thing
12:06when he was persecuting Christians.
12:08You know, he said, all of these
12:10things are... actually, he used a very
12:13strong word, but the thing is, when
12:15he went down that Damascus Road and
12:17God opened his spiritual eyes, Paul
12:19realized his true position in life.
12:24And so as he goes back, and reviews
12:27how he was a recipient of the grace
12:29of God, this is what he said in
12:301 Timothy 1:13, "...even though I was formerly
12:34a blasphemer and a persecutor and a
12:37violent aggressor." "Even though", meaning,
12:42"in spite of". Do you know that Christians —
12:44do you know the word "ISO-certified"?
12:46Have you heard that term —
12:48"ISO-certified"?
12:50You know, Christians are ISO-
12:51certified because "ISO" means "In
12:54Spite Of". In spite of ourselves,
12:58God has extended His grace to us.
13:00And that's why you and I are here today.
13:02So the next time you want to tell
13:04your story to somebody else,
13:05tell him "Friend, I am ISO-certified."
13:09"Oh?
13:10What does that mean?"
13:11"Let me tell you my story."
13:14Good opening?
13:15Try it someday.
13:16So he says, you know, this is
13:18what I was, (1 Tim. 13-14) "Yet I was shown mercy
13:20because I acted ignorantly in
13:21unbelief; and" — read this with me —
13:24"the grace of our Lord was more than
13:28abundant, with a faith and love
13:31which are found in Christ Jesus."
13:32You know, as Paul was recollecting
13:37what he used to be like, you
13:38know, these are serious things —
13:39"Blasphemer" means, a reverser
13:41of spiritual truth.
13:43Basically, he's telling people,
13:44"Jesus is not the Messiah.
13:46He's not God."
13:48A "Persecutor" is one who hunts down —
13:50he literally hunted Christians down.
13:53And then a "Violent aggressor"
13:54means, somebody who finds pleasure
13:57in causing other people pain.
13:59That's the kind of person that Paul
14:00was. And that's why he says in the next
14:05verses, (1 Tim. 1:15-16) "It is a trustworthy statement,
14:09deserving full acceptance, that Christ
14:11Jesus came into the world to save
14:14sinners, among whom I am foremost of all."
14:20In other translations
14:22it says, "I am the worst",
14:25sometimes "I am the chief of sinners".
14:30But you know what, as Paul recalls
14:32the fact that he's a recipient of
14:34God's grace, he has a sentence
14:37of hope because he said in verse 16,
14:40"Yet for this reason, I found mercy,
14:43so that in me as the foremost of sinners,
14:48Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect
14:51patience as an example for those who
14:54would believe in Him for eternal life."
14:57What is 1 Timothy 1:16 saying
14:59in simple English?
15:00In simple English,
15:01Paul is saying, "if there is hope
15:03for me, there is hope for you.
15:07If God can change me,
15:09He can change anybody."
15:11Maybe there's someone here this
15:12morning, and your life is such a mess,
15:16and you think that you are beyond
15:19the reach of the grace of God.
15:21Well, my friend, by the grace given
15:24me, like Paul is saying, I want
15:27to correct your wrong thinking.
15:30You are not out of reach
15:31of the grace of God.
15:33You are not. As a matter
15:35of fact, you being here, or
15:39listening to this message today,
15:41is part of the work of
15:42God's grace in your life.
15:44So listen, open your heart.
15:46And by the way, if you know someone
15:48who doesn't know Jesus yet, maybe
15:50he's a member of your family, I don't
15:51know, a good friend, and you think
15:54that person is like, his life is, or
15:56her life is spiraling out of control,
15:59out of reach of the grace of God,
16:02think again. If God did it for
16:05Paul, He can do it for anyone.
16:11Harry Ironside had this
16:13to say about grace.
16:15He said, "Grace is the
16:17very opposite of merit..."
16:19Remember, we normally say grace is what?
16:22Unmerited favor, right?
16:24So it is the very opposite of merit.
16:25"Grace is not only undeserved favor,
16:29but it is favor shown to the one
16:32who has deserved the very opposite."
16:35Amen.
16:35That's you and me.
16:36It reminds me of someone.
16:38This man, you know, when he was
16:41a young boy, he was terribly
16:44abused by his father,
16:46he was not defended by his mother.
16:48And so in his very young mind, he said,
16:51"there can be no God because God would
16:55never allow this to happen in my life."
16:58And so as he was growing up, he had a very
17:01clear and vehemently anti-God sentiment.
17:07He refused to believe in God.
17:09At the age of 12, he already became
17:12a part, or a participant in the
17:15communist movement in the Philippines.
17:18Can you imagine, 12 years old, already
17:21active in the communist movement?
17:22Clearly an atheistic, anti-God movement.
17:26When he became a college student, he
17:28became what they call a student agitator.
17:32And in the city where he was studying,
17:34he was single-handedly responsible
17:37for spearheading the largest
17:40school boycott in the history of that
17:43city. It paralyzed the universities.
17:45Five colleges and universities all
17:48walked out of their classrooms in protest,
17:50through the leadership of this guy.
17:53But one day, on his own Damascus Road,
17:58he met Jesus. And to compress his story,
18:03make the long story short, this guy
18:06is now one of the pastors of CCF.
18:10Can you imagine?
18:11That's the grace of God! A
18:14recipient of God's grace!
18:17Now, going back to all of us.
18:21What's one application that we can
18:24derive from what we just discussed?
18:27Let me ask you, how many of
18:29you have been touched and
18:31transformed by the grace of God?
18:33How many?
18:35Okay.
18:36Look at all of these hands.
18:39I have an assignment for you.
18:41Okay?
18:44We want to know your story.
18:47So here is an invitation and a challenge.
18:50You may have seen the videos
18:51of these four individuals.
18:53Share God's amazing story in your life and
18:56let your testimony lead others to Christ.
18:59You know how to do a testimony right?
19:01My life before Jesus, how I met Jesus,
19:04what Jesus is changing in my life,
19:07and then maybe a few more details.
19:09And I want you to take a
19:10picture of this QR code.
19:12And if you don't do it now, you can
19:14watch the video and take the picture
19:16there because we want to know your story.
19:19You know why
19:19we want to know your story?
19:21Because other people need to hear your story.
19:23Don't ever, ever think,
19:25"my story has no drama."
19:29Don't ever think that. The fact that
19:31the Lord reached out to you in love—
19:33remember that song we sang earlier?
19:35"Amazing love.
19:37Oh, what sacrifice the Son
19:39of God giveth for me.
19:41He paid my debt,
19:42He died that I might live." And that
19:44same Jesus dwells in you, and is
19:47transforming you every day of your life.
19:50Don't tell me your story has no drama.
19:53So folks, will we hear from you?
19:56Will you tell us your story?
20:03You thought I won’t hear you because you are wearing masks.
20:07Please give God the glory.
20:10I'm not saying we will
20:11put all of you on video.
20:13I'm not saying we will have all of
20:14you stand here, but people need to
20:17know, and soon enough, you'll see
20:18later on in the picture of the life of
20:20the Apostle Paul, that this is part of
20:23our duty and our privilege on Earth.
20:25So we said, first part of the picture of
20:28The Full Life is Recipient of God's Grace.
20:31Amen.
20:34A Minister of God's Gospel —
20:36look, notice everything is
20:37about God, not about us.
20:40A minister of God's gospel —
20:41where do we see that in the life of Paul?
20:44Let's continue.
20:44Romans 15:16 says, "to be
20:47a minister of Christ Jesus to the
20:49Gentiles, ministering as a priest the
20:52gospel of God, so that my offering
20:55of the Gentiles may become acceptable,
20:57sanctified by the Holy Spirit."
20:59Now, look, the word "minister".
21:02It's a servant who works for
21:05the benefit of the community.
21:07In other words, he
21:08doesn't think of himself.
21:11He works for the benefit of others.
21:13A priest is one who performs
21:16a sacred right, a sacred duty.
21:19What does this mean today
21:21for you and me? Folks,
21:23it's as simple as this.
21:25The Bible says that we are priests,
21:28yes? And when we share
21:32the gospel, it is ours —
21:34it is a sacred right,
21:37it is a sacred duty,
21:39it is a sacred privilege;
21:43ministering to people —
21:44when he says, "ministering as a priest
21:46the gospel of God". You know, what is the
21:50job of the priest in the Old Testament?
21:52The job of the priest in the
21:54Old Testament is two things:
21:56One is, the priest will
21:59represent people to God;
22:04the second is the
22:06priest, will represent God to people.
22:11Now, do you remember those three words?
22:13Pray, Care, Share.
22:18When we pray, when we intercede
22:20for people who don't know Jesus, we
22:23are representing them before God.
22:27When we pray with them,
22:30when we care for them,
22:33when we share our testimony with them,
22:35when we share the Gospel with them,
22:37we are representing God to the people.
22:41Is that clear?
22:43Everybody gets that?
22:44Thumbs up if that's clear.
22:45Very good.
22:47You see, folks, this is an important
22:49component of the picture of The Full Life.
22:52We have no business being recipients of
22:55the grace of God, if we will not share it
22:58with other people and tell them about it.
23:03That's why the second part of
23:05the picture of The Full Life
23:06is, a Minister of God's Gospel.
23:10Now, what
23:11about this gospel?
23:13Why?
23:13Why is it so important?
23:14Why is Paul so unashamed and
23:17so driven and so compelled?
23:18Well, look at what he said
23:19in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4,
23:21"I delivered to you as of first importance
23:25what I also received, that
23:26Christ died for our sins
23:28according to the Scriptures, and that He
23:31was buried, and that He was raised on the
23:33third day according to the Scriptures."
23:35Now, as of first importance, it's like
23:38Paul is saying, "you know, this is the
23:40most important message I could ever share."
23:45It is both urgent and important.
23:48And if you know that quadrant,
23:49you know it's right there — urgent
23:52and important. And he's saying,
23:57"it's the most important message
23:58I could ever share with anyone."
24:00The problem is, especially in a country
24:03like ours, this idea of Christ died
24:06for sins and buried and raised
24:09again — it's something that many
24:11people know intellectually, right?
24:14They know it intellectually, but
24:16it's something that, maybe, their
24:18spiritual eyes remain closed too,
24:21until the Holy Spirit makes a work
24:22in their life. And that's why,
24:25to help open up their spiritual eyes,
24:27God uses, many times, your story
24:29and mine, as we share our
24:32testimony, as well as the Gospel.
24:34But this message
24:35is so important. Now.
24:37Okay.
24:38I want to see if you... I'm
24:43going to show you a picture again.
24:46If you know what this is, I want
24:48you to raise your hand right away.
24:49Okay?
24:50Are you ready?
24:51Okay.
24:53Do you remember what this is?
24:55Raise your hand if you remember.
24:57Oh, okay.
24:58I know your grandfather told you about it.
25:00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:04Some people even had two of them,
25:06right?
25:08But I remember, during the pager days of
25:11the world, when you had something really
25:16important for people to receive, you
25:18would tell the person on the other end
25:20of the line, "Please send it right away.
25:26Please send it twice." Because
25:30many times, you know, too late
25:33the hero, you know, when
25:35they receive the message.
25:36So please, send it right away,
25:39send it twice.
25:41And in Paul's mind, the Gospel,
25:43the most important message.
25:45But what is behind what Paul said,
25:48Christ, died, was buried, and
25:52was raised according to Scriptures.
25:54You know, especially in this country,
25:55we need to dig a little deeper.
25:57We need to see what's behind
25:58that, to see the heart of God.
26:00And in Philippians 2:5-8, Paul
26:02elucidates on that. He says, "Have
26:05this attitude in yourselves, which was
26:06also in Christ Jesus, who, although He
26:08existed in the form of God, did not
26:11regard equality with God as a thing
26:13to be grasped, but emptied Himself" — in
26:16some versions, "made Himself nothing"
26:22(v.7) "He emptied Himself, taking the
26:23form of a bond-servant, and being
26:25made in the likeness of men.
26:27Being found in appearance as a man,
26:29He humbled himself by becoming obedient to
26:32the point of death, even death on a cross."
26:34What does this remind us of?
26:36You know, this is part of what
26:37they call, "the humiliation of Christ".
26:40If Jesus came to
26:44Earth and became the handsomest,
26:49richest, most powerful man on
26:52Earth, it would've still been an
26:56incalculable, unthinkable humiliation.
27:00Because Jesus is God,
27:04there is no one like Him.
27:06And yet, it says, He took on the appearance
27:11of a man. In Isaiah, it says that there
27:14was nothing special about His appearance.
27:17He looked just like anybody else.
27:20We wouldn't even give Him a second look.
27:23But more than that, when He suffered for
27:25you and me, it says, His figure was marred,
27:29He was disfigured beyond recognition.
27:33Why?
27:34Because He didn't just become a man —
27:37He became a bond-servant. And
27:40He became obedient to death —
27:43not a quick death, not a
27:46glorious death, but a gruesome,
27:49painful death on the cross.
27:54And that's why you and I are
27:56ministers of God's gospel.
28:01In the 1700's, Charles
28:03Wesley wrote a hymn.
28:05It's one of my favorites.
28:06It's one of the first I learned ever in
28:09CCF. Pastor Peter, in the AIM days.
28:12One of my first hymns that I ever learned.
28:15"And Can It Be
28:17That I Should Gain"
28:18And this is just one stanza.
28:20Okay, let me read it to you.
28:21I won't sing it this time,
28:22I'll just read it.
28:23I really want the words to sink in.
28:26"He left His Father's throne
28:29above so free, so infinite
28:32His grace; emptied Himself of all but
28:37love, and bled for Adam's helpless race;
28:42'Tis mercy all, immense and free; For,
28:46O my God, it found out me." All together
28:50now:
28:51"Amazing love!
28:53How can it be that thou
28:56my God shouldst die for me?"
29:01And folks, that's why Peter writes,
29:05he says, (1 Pet. 2:9) "But you are a chosen race,
29:08a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
29:11a people for God's own possession..."
29:13For what purpose?
29:17The only thing we can boast about is Jesus
29:21and His gospel. "...that you may proclaim
29:24the excellencies of Him who has called you
29:27out of darkness into His marvelous light."
29:31I was told about these two
29:33young girls, one of them
29:36belonged to a religious group
29:39that said, Jesus is only a man.
29:42You may have an idea what
29:43religious group that might be.
29:45Anyway, that was the belief of her family.
29:47But she became a follower of Jesus.
29:49She joined our youth movement in Elevate.
29:53Her dream was to have her parents hear
29:56the Gospel and, you know, she did something
29:59simple, but she was very intentional.
30:01So she said to her classmates, "Can
30:03you come to the house so we can have
30:06dinner together, and let's talk about the
30:08Gospel so that my parents can hear it."
30:13This young lady is a
30:15minister of God's gospel.
30:16She knows. And then she had
30:19a friend, another young girl.
30:21This young girl wanted to
30:22share the Gospel in her school.
30:25And so she said, "Oh, I have a
30:26class at 10:00 AM; so, I can go
30:30to the school early and look for
30:32somebody to share the Gospel with."
30:34So she called the first young
30:36girl, the one I described earlier,
30:38so they went to the school
30:39at seven in the morning.
30:41They went into the building from the first
30:43floor, the second floor, the third floor—
30:45they couldn't find people, or maybe
30:47they weren't willing to listen.
30:49On the fourth floor, they found somebody
30:51whose heart God has prepared,
30:54and they shared the Gospel with that
30:56student, and she gave her life to Jesus.
30:59Why [do]
30:59all of that work? Well apart from it
31:01being good exercise — going from the
31:03first to the fourth floor? Because
31:05that one person is loved by Jesus.
31:10Because it says in the Gospel of Luke,
31:13"even for one sinner who repents, (there is
31:16what) rejoicing among the angels in heaven."
31:22So folks, you and I, we are
31:24ministers of God's gospel.
31:27So is the picture becoming clearer —
31:30the picture of The Full Life?
31:32Okay, so let's check again:
31:35A Picture of The Full Life. Number
31:38one: Recipient of God's Grace — but
31:43we don't keep it to ourselves;
31:45Number two component of the picture:
31:47A Minister of God's Gospel —
31:51you may not feel like a minister,
31:54you may not look like a minister,
31:57but you are, because God says so.
32:01Number three: an
32:03Instrument of God's Power.
32:06Oh, let's go back to the
32:07life of the Apostle Paul,
32:08and how was that true for him?
32:11Romans 15:17
32:13he says, "Therefore, in Christ
32:16Jesus, I have found reason for
32:17boasting in things pertaining to
32:21God." Not about me, but about Him.
32:24(Rom. 15:18) "For I will not presume to speak
32:27of anything except what Christ has
32:30accomplished through me, resulting in
32:34the obedience of the Gentiles by word
32:37and deed."
32:38Remember, you know, Paul is recalling the
32:40sovereignty of God, how the Gospel and
32:43Messiah were rejected vehemently by the
32:45Jews when he tried to share it with them.
32:48But that was the wide open door for
32:51the Gospel to reach the Gentiles.
32:52And as we said earlier, and that's why
32:54you and I are here today. But what was
32:57Paul talking about when he said, "what
32:59Christ has accomplished through me"?
33:02Well, he goes on to say, (Rom. 15:19) "In the power
33:07of signs and wonders, in the power
33:10of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit); so
33:16that from Jerusalem and roundabout
33:18as far as Illyricum" — which is estimated
33:21something like 1,400 miles — "I have
33:25fully preached the Gospel of Christ."
33:27You know, Paul could not have done this
33:29without the power of the Holy Spirit.
33:32As a matter of fact, many commentators
33:35estimate that he traveled a total of
33:3610,000 miles throughout his journey —
33:40only by the power of the Holy Spirit.
33:42Then he goes on, (Rom. 15:20) "And thus I aspired to
33:45preach the gospel, not where Christ
33:47was already named, so that I would
33:49not build on another man's foundation;
33:52but as it is written" — and this is
33:54an Old Testament quotation —
33:56"They (the Gentiles) who had no news
34:00of Him shall see, and they who
34:02have not heard, shall understand."
34:05Such was the passion of the Apostle Paul.
34:07He wanted to make sure that he wasn't
34:10duplicating other people's efforts.
34:13He really wanted to take the
34:14Gospel to places where it had
34:17never been heard of before.
34:19Why?
34:19Because that was Jesus'
34:21marching orders for him.
34:23Now, this thing about signs and wonders,
34:25power of the Holy Spirit — where do we see
34:27that? As an example in the Book of Acts,
34:31Paul said — not Paul said, but the
34:34Book of Acts said, (Acts 19:11-12) "God was performing
34:36extraordinary miracles by the hands
34:38of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons
34:43were even carried from his body
34:46to the sick, and the diseases left
34:49them and the evil spirits went out."
34:53Isn't that amazing? By the way,
34:56you be careful. When you see on
34:58television somebody saying, "oh,
35:00we have this divine handkerchief,
35:02you know, [it's] only $10, only 1000 Pesos.
35:06And if you buy this handkerchief from
35:08me, and put it on the sick person, he
35:10will be well." Please don't be fooled.
35:13But we're talking about a very specific
35:17manifestation of the power of the Holy
35:19Spirit in the life of the Apostle Paul.
35:22Now, you might be saying, "will
35:25God do the same things through me?"
35:29I'm not saying He won't, but
35:31we're not just talking about, you
35:33know, evil spirits being cast
35:36out or sick people being healed.
35:38The application for us today,
35:40ladies and gentlemen, is
35:42called the Spirit-filled Life.
35:48You and I need to operate day
35:50by day, moment by moment, by
35:53the power of the Holy Spirit.
35:56Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18:
36:00"Do not get drunk with wine,
36:02for that is dissipation, but
36:04be filled with the Holy Spirit."
36:08Why?
36:10Because this is what the Holy Spirit
36:11does. In Galatians 5:22-23:
36:14"But the fruit of the
36:15Spirit is love, joy, peace..."
36:20You know, if you stop there, it's seems too much already;
36:23like, "Wow, Lord! Love, joy, peace!
36:26I mean, where can you
36:27find that in this world?"
36:29But wait, there's more!
36:34"...patience, kindness, goodness,
36:37faithfulness, gentleness, self-
36:40control against such things
36:42there is no law."
36:44So folks, you and I are meant
36:46to be living The Full Life, as
36:49instruments of God's power.
36:53I was told about another young girl,
36:58and at that time, you know, she was
37:02sharing the Gospel, doing Bible
37:04study with her classmates in school.
37:05But she felt the conviction —
37:08she said, "you know what, I should
37:09be doing this more with my family."
37:12And that's why, you know, in the
37:13last many years, we've been reminded
37:15that our families are our first ministry.
37:17But of course, she's like the
37:18young person in the family.
37:20"So how can I, how could I possibly
37:21influence my family to get to
37:24know the Jesus that I know?"
37:25And you know, her father was,
37:27at that time, he was drinking
37:30and womanizing, and the family was
37:32even against her coming to CCF.
37:36And even when she would try to
37:38invite them, they'd refuse.
37:41But, you know, God eventually used
37:45the life of this young girl. Not
37:47just her talking about the
37:49Gospel, which is important, but her
37:52life, her transformed life. Because as
37:55they observed her more and more as she
37:57grew in her relationship with Jesus,
37:59she was becoming
38:01more and more obedient,
38:03her character was changing.
38:05There was a time that she was in
38:07a relationship, not necessarily
38:09a bad one, but for some reason,
38:11the family didn't like it.
38:13And when they told her that they were not
38:15exactly, crazy about her
38:19relationship, immediately, no arguments,
38:25she cut the relationship.
38:27And so their jaws dropped. And they
38:30said, "what is happening to our
38:32little girl?" In a good way.
38:35To make the long story short, after
38:39months of praying, after months of living
38:41the Spirit-filled life, being a good
38:42example, the family agreed to attend CCF.
38:46The father, who used to be a
38:48drunkard, was transformed 180 degrees —
38:52no more drinking, no more
38:53cheating on the wife.
38:55Two years later, the mother and the
38:57other daughter were transformed.
38:59Today, this family is solid in Jesus!
39:02The relationships are like this.
39:04They study the Bible together.
39:06Amazing!
39:07Why?
39:07Because this young girl realized she can
39:11be an instrument of the power of God.
39:15So that's the third component that we
39:17see in the picture of The Full Life.
39:24Now, let me show you this
39:26quotation from Chip Ingram.
39:29Okay, now the quotation it says —
39:32it should say, "Come to IDC,
39:34I want to see you there."
39:37No, but the quotation is this:
39:38"God specializes in using ordinary
39:42people to do extraordinary
39:45things." For the glory of God!
39:48Never underestimate what God can do
39:52with a person whose life is fully
39:55surrendered to Him, and lives according
39:57to the power of the Holy Spirit.
39:59Okay.
40:01Recipient of God's Grace, Minister
40:03of God's Gospel, Instrument of God's
40:05Power, Servant of God's People —
40:07that's the last. Do
40:09you recognize this man?
40:12You recognize him?
40:15Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of?
40:19Do you know what was his job before
40:21he became the president of Ukraine?
40:23He was a comedian. And in an amazing
40:27irony, in the comedy series that he was in,
40:32he was a school teacher who
40:34became the president of Ukraine,
40:37in the TV, in the comedy.
40:39But you know what they say?
40:40Sometimes life imitates art.
40:43And so he ended up becoming the
40:44real president of Ukraine, and
40:47now he's facing challenges that
40:49are beyond his imagination.
40:51But you know what, something like
40:54that happened to the Apostle Paul.
40:58His life is an irony of God's grace
41:01because he went from being a religious,
41:08arrogant, zealous person who
41:13believed so much in himself and his cause,
41:16to a servant going about so many parts
41:20of the world, serving God, serving people,
41:24even if it meant not just his discomfort,
41:28but even if it meant his very life.
41:31Here in Romans 15:22-25, he says,
41:33"For this reason I've often been prevented
41:35from coming to you, but now with no
41:37further place for me in these regions, and
41:39since I have had for many years a longing
41:41to come to you whenever I go to Spain—
41:44for I hope to see you in passing, and to be
41:46helped on my way there by you, when I have
41:50first enjoyed your company for a while."
41:53What is Paul saying?
41:54Basically, aside from going around and
41:57preaching the Gospel, the Apostle Paul
42:00would go to the Christians in many
42:01places. Why? You know, spend money—
42:04he was supporting himself
42:06basically most of the time—
42:07just to encourage them.
42:10Because there's no Viber, right?
42:13There's not even, what
42:14do you call that — busy call
42:16we showed earlier — nothing.
42:18He had to go by himself.
42:19Of course, he could write a letter,
42:20but it would take ages, right?
42:22And he wanted to
42:24see them face to face.
42:25But now he said to the
42:27Christians in Rome, "I'm going to you soon. The
42:31time for me to see you is near." But
42:34for now, he says, (v.25) "but now I am going
42:37to Jerusalem, serving the saints."
42:39Why?
42:40What was Paul going to do?
42:42What was so important?
42:43He said, (Rom. 15:26-28) "Macedonia and Achaia
42:47(these are Gentile churches) have been
42:48pleased to make a contribution for the
42:50poor among the saints in Jerusalem."
42:53What a wonderful picture of
42:54unity in the body of Christ.
42:55Here you have the Gentile Christians
42:57putting money together, giving it
42:59to Paul, who will bring it to Jews
43:01who became believers in Jerusalem.
43:04And that's why [he] says, (v.27) "Yes, they
43:06were pleased to do so, and they are
43:07indebted to them for if the Gentiles
43:10have shared in their spiritual
43:12things"— remember the Gospel, to the
43:15Jews first and then to the Gentiles —
43:17"they are indebted to minister
43:19to them also in material things.
43:21Therefore, when I have finished
43:24this" — meaning this errand — "and have put
43:27my seal on this fruit of theirs, I
43:29will go on by way of you to Spain."
43:31So what is Paul saying?
43:33"I'll see you soon enough, in God's time.
43:35But right now I am a messenger.
43:40I'm a messenger with a very precious gift."
43:46And, you know, transporting a gift like
43:48that can be very, very dangerous as well.
43:51But such was the Apostle Paul,
43:54a servant of God's people.
43:57Now, to give us a present day picture of
44:02what The Full Life looks like with all
44:05of these components, our brother, Adrian —
44:07Adrian, will you come forward please?
44:09Let's welcome our brother
44:11Adrian from CCF North EDSA.
44:15He will tell us his story about,
44:18well, how God is completing this
44:21picture of The Full Life with him.
44:28"As a second son amongst four boys,
44:31I grew up having insecurities, so I
44:33constantly sought for attention and
44:34acceptance from others by becoming
44:36competitive in all my endeavors.
44:38I wanted to prove to everyone, especially
44:40to my parents, that I was the best.
44:42If I did not, if anyone did not give
44:44me the recognition I
44:46felt I needed, I would easily harbor
44:49bitterness and unforgiveness towards them.
44:51Because of my desire to have complete
44:53autonomy of my life, I grabbed the
44:55opportunity to take my intermediate
44:56and high school education in Canada,
44:59away from parental supervision.
45:01It was there where I learned
45:02how to drink and smoke at 13, and
45:04started having casual sex at 15.
45:07This led to my downward spiral
45:08into immorality and impurity.
45:11Despite my worldly lifestyle, I
45:13still considered myself a good person
45:15who did not need God in his life.
45:17I carried my self-confidence through
45:19college, and managed to establish a
45:21construction business with my friends.
45:23The success was great, but how I was
45:25handling it only heightened my misbehaviors.
45:28My routine consisted of getting drunk,
45:30womanizing, and discrediting the Bible.
45:33I looked down on anyone who went
45:35against my life views and my way of living.
45:38This lifestyle continued until
45:39I was professionally working,
45:42and by this time, I was already married
45:44to my wife, Trisha, who had been
45:46sharing to me about Jesus Christ.
45:48I started as a Sunday Christian
45:50attending church on Sundays,
45:53yet for the rest of the week, I was
45:54still the same drunkard and adulterer.
45:57Just when things were going well, our
45:59construction business went bankrupt,
46:01leaving us with more
46:03than 70 million pesos in debt.
46:05What’s worse,
46:06rumors about me stealing spread,
46:08being the CFO of the company.
46:10My world literally crumbled.
46:12It made me reflect. My wife resented me;
46:15I had a one year old daughter
46:17who I barely spent time with;
46:19I had no more income, no fallback;
46:21I was a thief in the eyes of many,
46:23with millions of pesos in debt.
46:26I was at my lowest point.
46:27I was totally helpless,
46:29hopeless, and powerless.
46:31This was when my wife's
46:32sister told us about CCF.
46:35I remember how my tears flowed
46:36uncontrollably every Sunday worship,
46:38because I was seeking refuge in the Lord.
46:40However, there was still
46:42remnants of disobedience.
46:43As a result of my half-heartedness,
46:46I continued to make poor family
46:47decisions, which affected my loved ones.
46:50Finally, one morning service in
46:52January 2008, as I heard the
46:54Gospel being shared once again,
46:57I was humbled by His unceasing grace.
46:59This time, I completely understood
47:01Jesus Christ's death and
47:03resurrection for sinners like me.
47:05So right then and there,
47:06I gave my whole to Him.
47:09I even gave my lighter and cigarettes to
47:10Trisha right after the service because
47:13I got tired of playing games with myself,
47:15everyone, and especially with God.
47:18Soon, I began to read the Bible
47:19on my own and looked forward to
47:21praying and communing with God.
47:23I stopped wallowing in the past
47:24and started letting God define me.
47:27The Lord opened my eyes to appreciating
47:28my wife more, for she suffered the most
47:31from my wayward and disobedient living.
47:33Trisha, I love you.
47:36Thank you for being so patient with me.
47:41Even though we were still in the
47:43wilderness of paying our debts
47:44using our car and some of my
47:46wife's pieces of jewelry, God never
47:48failed to provide for our needs.
47:50There were times I didn't want to
47:52pay our creditors faithfully, but the
47:54Lord spoke to me through Psalm 37.
47:56It says, "the wicked borrows
47:57and does not pay back."
47:59Having been convinced by the
48:00word of God, I was slowly
48:02paying my debts with enthusiasm.
48:04Little did I know that God was
48:06also stirring up the hearts of some
48:07creditors to write off our debts.
48:10And by God's grace, my last
48:11check payment cleared in 2017.
48:14So we are now officially debt-free.
48:18Praise God!
48:20God's grace and faithfulness
48:22encouraged us to further depend on
48:23God who does not disappoint. Soon,
48:25my long desire for my family to have
48:27our own house, happened miraculously.
48:30Not only was our new home
48:31given to us for free,
48:33but some family members, and even
48:34the seller of the house, helped
48:36with our renovation expenses.
48:39We saw more of God's
48:40grace and sovereignty
48:41when I learned [that] my daughter
48:43had to go through a major spine surgery
48:45in 2020. I knew that the Lord was
48:48in control, but I still doubted Him.
48:50I was asking Him, "Why us?
48:52We serve You diligently.
48:53Why can't it be someone else
48:55who can afford such a surgery?"
48:57The Lord graciously answered through our
48:59discipleship group, where both leader and
49:01co-members were praying for my family and
49:03gently rebuking me for blaming the Lord.
49:06Despite my shortcomings, God made
49:07my daughter's surgery successful,
49:10even making her recovery quick.
49:12On top of that, the expenses incurred
49:13in the surgery were all paid for.
49:16Praise God! From a Bible skeptic
49:20who would spread false truths,
49:22now a defender of the faith who teaches GLC.
49:25God truly gives grace and empowers His
49:28servants. From a passive Sunday Church
49:30goer, to someone actively serving
49:33in the family ministry of CCF North
49:35EDSA, and leading several small groups,
49:38I became a minister of the Gospel
49:40because of the Lord. But the
49:41Lord is not done with me yet.
49:43I'm Adrian Camacho — once always fooling
49:46around, but now living a full life for
49:48the Kingdom of God, all glory and honor
49:51to our living savior, Jesus Christ!
49:54Praise God indeed!
49:55Adrian, give us the
49:56privilege of praying for you.
49:58Will you raise your right hand of
49:59blessing towards our brother Adrian.
50:02Father
50:02God, we thank You so much for giving us
50:05this morning so many pictures of what
50:07The Full Life looks like, not the least
50:09of which, is the picture You're painting
50:11in the life of our brother Adrian.
50:13Keep him and Trisha and their wonderful
50:14family always in the center of Your
50:16will, in the palm of Your hands.
50:18Keep them safe.
50:19Let their let their lives blossom for
50:21Your glory from one day to the next.
50:24And thank You again for his life.
50:26May he and his whole family
50:28and generations after him be
50:30faithful to You until the day we
50:31all see You together in heaven.
50:33In Jesus' name, we pray.
50:35Amen.
50:35Thank you, brother.
50:37What a blessing!
50:38Okay, so we all know what
50:44a Full Life looks like, but if you
50:46transition into chapter 16 of Romans,
50:50you'll realize there are so many names.
50:52It's like a list of, you know, it's
50:54almost like the Book of Numbers, but when
50:56you think about it, all of these people
50:59represent a picture of The Full Life.
51:03For example, what does Paul say there?
51:05He says, (Rom. 16:1-2) "I commend to you our sister,
51:07Phoebe" — by the way, her name is Bright
51:09or Radiant, it's a beautiful name — "who
51:11is a servant of the church, which is
51:13at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the
51:15Lord in a manner worthy of the saints,
51:18and that you help her in whatever
51:20manner she may have need of you;
51:22for she herself has also been a
51:24helper of many, and of myself as well."
51:26We don't know much about
51:28this lady — young or old, we don't
51:30know; married or single — but we know
51:32that she went through all of these
51:33things: a sinner, saved by grace, and so
51:36forth, and we will see her in heaven.
51:38But all we know is that she is a servant
51:41and she's a saint and that means that
51:44she was chosen by the sovereignty of God.
51:48And then Paul goes on to
51:50say, (Rom. 16:3) "Greet Prisca"— which means "greatly
51:52esteemed" — "and Aquila" — which means "eagle" —
51:56"my fellow workers" — because they were
51:57in the same business — tent-making — and
52:00also, of course, they were fellow workers
52:02in terms of the Gospel. (Rom. 16:4) "...in Christ Jesus,
52:05who for my life risked their own necks,
52:08to whom not only do I give thanks, but
52:10also all the churches of the Gentiles."
52:13In other words, if it were not for
52:16these two, Paul would have, you know,
52:18died prematurely in human terms, and the
52:22work of the Gospel would've been derailed.
52:25(Rom. 16:5) "...also greet the church
52:26that is in their house."
52:27Oh, so these guys are also
52:29leading a Dgroup in their
52:31own home, or a house fellowship.
52:34So we know that these guys are also—
52:36their lives are also a portrait of,
52:38the grace of God, The Full Life.
52:41And then it says, (Rom.16:5) "Greet Epaenetus" —
52:44which means, "praised or commendable" —
52:46"my beloved, who is the first
52:48convert to Christ from Asia."
52:51All of these people have their special
52:53[stories], even this man named Epenaetus, who
52:56was the first convert, most likely in
52:58Achaia, and most likely, through God's
53:00ministry through Prisca and Aquila.
53:04So all of these names are
53:06portraits or pictures of The Full Life.
53:09Now, we won't go through every
53:11single name that you'll see
53:13in the 16th chapter of Romans.
53:15But if you go through verses six to 16,
53:18you have all of these amazing names;
53:21these are real people;
53:22these are living epistles.
53:25Some of them are not even named because
53:26it says, "the household of so and so and
53:29his mother", but they're real people.
53:32We will see them in heaven.
53:34We will hear their stories personally
53:37when we are gathered together with Jesus.
53:39But all of them without exception —
53:42high and lowest state, men and women,
53:45young and old, possibly, master and slave,
53:49all of them are pictures of The Full Life.
53:53And if you'd like to name some of
53:55your future children after some
53:57of these, have your pick —
54:00Philologus, Asyncritus,
54:02Aristobulus —
54:04it's up to you.
54:07Now, skipping over this
54:09list of names, whose lives are
54:11each a picture of the full lives,
54:14the Apostle Paul also says, "wait
54:16a minute, there are people with
54:17me who are greeting those people."
54:20See, the names we saw earlier,
54:22he says, "greet all of these people
54:24in my name, greet them, greet them,
54:26give them my regards and so forth;
54:27give them my love."
54:29And then he's saying, "there are people
54:31with me who also are greeting them.
54:33Let them know." Who are these people?
54:35Well, these are the names
54:38that are mentioned in verses 21 to 23.
54:40Let me just pick out a few just to show us
54:43the significance that all of these people
54:45are a picture of The Full Life. Timothy —
54:47we know who that is —
54:48the young protegé of the Apostle Paul,
54:50who eventually became the pastor at
54:52Ephesus, and to whom he wrote, obviously,
54:55the letters addressed to Timothy.
54:58And then there's this
54:58guy, Tersius. Who was Tersius?
55:03Tersius was the Secretary of Paul,
55:06writing the Book of Romans.
55:08I mean, just think about it.
55:10Here is this guy named Tersius
55:11minding his own business, not
55:13even knowing who Jesus was.
55:15And one day — we don't know exactly
55:17how it happened, but someday, we
55:19will know — this Holy Spirit opens his
55:22eyes, he gives his life to Jesus;
55:24he's now ministering with Paul,
55:26and he's the one taking down the
55:28dictation of the Book of Romans.
55:30And that's why we have
55:31the Book of Romans today.
55:32Is that amazing or what?
55:34I mean, that's how God works
55:36through people — using ordinary
55:39people in extraordinary ways.
55:41And here we have Erastus.
55:43Now, who is that?
55:44Well, he's described in the
55:46Book of Romans as the city
55:48treasurer, a government official.
55:50How many of you here work for the
55:52government in some way, shape or form?
55:54You work for the government.
55:56Yeah?
55:56We praise God for you because
55:58He has raised you up to be a
56:00blessing in the public sector.
56:02Now, how many of you work
56:03in the private sector?
56:07Okay.
56:08What do the rest of you do? Anyway,
56:11wherever God has placed you, wherever
56:14God has placed you, He has placed
56:16you there to live The Full Life,
56:20in full view of everybody else;
56:22not to bring glory to ourselves,
56:25but to point people to the One who
56:27said, "I have come that they may
56:29have life and have it to the full."
56:33But just before we end, the
56:35Apostle Paul inserts a warning.
56:40He inserts a warning about something
56:43that can shatter this picture.
56:47What is that?
56:50He says in verses 17 and 18 of Romans 16.
56:53"Now, I urge you, brethren, keep
56:55your eye on those who cause" — what?
56:58— "dissensions and hindrances
57:01contrary to the teaching which
57:03you learned, and turn away from them."
57:05He didn't just
57:07say, "watch out for them";
57:08He says, "turn away from them".
57:11(Rom 16:18) "For such men are slaves, not of our
57:13Lord Christ, but of their own appetites.
57:16And by their smooth and flattering
57:18speech, they deceived the
57:20hearts of the unsuspecting."
57:21What is he warning us against?
57:23The word "dissension" means separates
57:27people into pointless factions.
57:30In other words, there will be people
57:32in the church who will cause people
57:35to have useless debates, just like
57:38what Pastor Peter was talking about —
57:40non-essentials. So that the Church of
57:43Christ is polarized over something that
57:46shouldn't even be a topic of debate.
57:48And what happens then?
57:50The loser is the rest of the world because
57:53they need to hear the Gospel, rather
57:54than listen to Christians bickering.
57:56You know what I'm saying?
57:58And then "hindrances" means bait.
58:00It's like, you know when you have a
58:02mouse trap and you put cheese or peanut
58:05or banana or something, it's bait
58:07for a trap;
58:08it draws one to sin or disobedience.
58:11Paul is saying, "watch out and
58:13turn away from these people."
58:16Then he goes on to say, (Rom. 16:19) "For the report
58:18of your obedience has reached to all;
58:21therefore, I am rejoicing over you..."
58:23But he says, "...I want you to be
58:27wise (or to be excellent) in what is
58:30good and innocent in what is evil."
58:34That is Paul's message to us here today as
58:37we continue to live The Full Life: "be wise
58:41in what is good, but be innocent of evil."
58:45And all of these things that are coming
58:47against the Church of Jesus, whether
58:50from the inside or from the outside,
58:53Paul declares in Romans 16:20:
58:55"The God of peace will soon
58:58crush Satan under your feet" — as
59:03a fulfillment of God's prophecy
59:06in Genesis 3. He says,
59:09"the grace of our Lord be with you".
59:12And so we end chapter 16
59:15with Paul's amazing doxology.
59:18Look at what he said, (Rom. 16:25-26) "Now to Him who is
59:21able to establish you according to my
59:24gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
59:27according to the revelation of the
59:29mystery, which has been kept secret for
59:31long ages past, but now is manifested,
59:34and by the Scriptures of the prophets,
59:37according to the commandment of the
59:39eternal God, has been made known to all
59:42the nations, leading to obedience of faith..."
59:46What did he say at the end?
59:48(Rom. 16:27) "To the only wise God, through
59:51Jesus Christ, be the glory forever.
59:53Amen."
59:54Hallelujah!
59:55Now, remember we said the whole
1:00:00book of Romans is a picture
1:00:01of The Full Life, right?
1:00:05Let's look at this doxology once more.
1:00:08Look, he's talking about here "the
1:00:11revelation of the mystery, which has
1:00:13been kept secret for long ages past".
1:00:15He's talking about the Gospel, right?
1:00:17And the Gospel is what
1:00:19tells us we are sinners;
1:00:21it's the Gospel that tells
1:00:22us we need salvation.
1:00:24Remember, these are the two first
1:00:25components of the Book of Romans (Sin, Salvation).
1:00:27And then he says, "but now it's
1:00:29manifested by the Scriptures of
1:00:30the prophets according to the
1:00:32commandments of the eternal God".
1:00:34The commandments of the word of
1:00:36God is what sanctifies us.
1:00:39When we obey them, we
1:00:40become more like Jesus.
1:00:42And so that points to our
1:00:43continuing sanctification.
1:00:45And then he says, "has been made
1:00:47known " — not only to the Jews,
1:00:49but — "to all of the nations
1:00:51(that is the Sovereignty
1:00:53of God)"
1:00:54And finally, "leading to obedience
1:00:58(Service, offering our bodies as living sacrifices)
1:01:01the obedience of faith
1:01:02(that is service)."
1:01:03And that's why, folks, the whole Book of
1:01:05Romans is a picture of The Full Life.
1:01:09And that's why, at the end, Paul
1:01:10says, "to the only wise God, through
1:01:14Jesus Christ, be the glory forever.
1:01:18Amen."
1:01:24And so we end as we began —
1:01:27with an empty frame.
1:01:29What is the picture of your life?
1:01:33Is it The Full Life, or
1:01:35is it the fool life?
1:01:41Shall we bow our heads in prayer?
1:01:46If you're living The Full Life and
1:01:48you know it's all because of the grace
1:01:49of God, take a moment to thank Him,
1:01:53and just continue to commit
1:01:55your life to Him and say, "yes,
1:01:56Lord, I will live The Full Life.
1:01:59I am a recipient of Your grace.
1:02:01I will be a minister of Your gospel.
1:02:03I will be an instrument of Your power,
1:02:05and I will be a servant of Your people."
1:02:08But if you're here today, you're
1:02:10listening, you're watching, you're
1:02:11physically present or otherwise, and you
1:02:14know you are living your own life, but
1:02:17not The Full Life [that] Jesus intended for you,
1:02:22well, the sovereignty of God —
1:02:26He has you exactly where He wants you.
1:02:29But still, you need to make the choice.
1:02:31You need to open your heart to Him
1:02:33and say, yeah, why don't you do that?
1:02:36Say it.
1:02:36Open your heart, and tell
1:02:38Him, "Lord Jesus, I need You.
1:02:42I'm a sinner.
1:02:43I need Your salvation.
1:02:46There is no hope for me apart from You.
1:02:50I open my heart,
1:02:51I give you my life, in all
1:02:52humility and sincerity.
1:02:54And I choose to live Your full life in me,
1:02:58rather than my foolish life with myself.
1:03:02And so, Lord, I give You my life.
1:03:03Here I am.
1:03:05But make me into that person
1:03:07that You designed me to be.
1:03:10Be my God, my Lord, my Savior, my
1:03:12Messiah, my Master, my everything —
1:03:14the reason why I live, and the
1:03:17reason why I know I will be
1:03:19with You in heaven someday."
1:03:22Thank You, Jesus.
1:03:23Because You lived The Full Life, and
1:03:25now, I can live it because of You.
1:03:28I give You all glory and
1:03:29praise, in Jesus' name.
1:03:31Amen.
1:03:31Amen.
1:03:31God bless you all!

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