Embracing Transformation Through the Fullness of the Gospel

I'm so glad that we all survived the storms. And they weren't too bad for us, but our neighboring cities have had some real hard times. And a good friend of mine who pastors in Southern Ohio shared with me that their church steeple was actually struck by lightning and caused some damage for them. And so there's a lot of people who are going through it this morning, and so we'll be praying for them as well. But I'm excited that you are here with us today. And so we have some people who are out sick and people who are traveling, just wrapping up spring break. And so we do recognize that people who are out here will be praying for them as well. But it's great that you're here with us today to worship. And I just want to say that we love you all very much. And I talk about this with the guests all the time, about this is the best way to connect with us. But it's also a great way for our church family to let us know of any prayer needs or to update any information. So if there's a prayer needs, a way that you can fill that out or just feel free to reach out to me directly. My contact information is on the newsletter, so you'll get me there for sure. [00:04:00]

But when you came in this morning, you probably sat down on one of these. And during the month of April, usually it's the month of when we have Easter, the Southern Baptist Convention does an Annie Armstrong offering. And so what that does is that all the funding collected during this offering time goes towards the North American Mission Board. And that's all the church planners and missionaries that here in the Americas. And so this is just a prayer guide for you to walk through. But I would prayerfully encourage you to consider giving towards our Annie Armstrong offering. And so to give those because it does go directly to church plants and church ministries here. And so it's a great way to be able to support the ministries and the missions of those here in our state. And so prayerfully consider doing that. And then I want to draw your attention to some upcoming events that we have going on. So next Sunday, we're going to do things a little bit different. And I know it's a Sunday and we don't typically do this, but we're partnering with Restoration Church. [00:05:06]

And so to be able to have a opportunity to serve and care for Walter Hill Elementary. And so they have several items that they need us to be able to come alongside them to help with. And so this is what we're going to do next Sunday. I'm going to encourage you all to show up in your work clothes. OK, you don't have to wear your, you know, you don't have to dress up and get some stuff that we can get dirty in. And then we're going to meet in here at 9 a .m. And so it's going to be all the kids, all the families, everybody, because there's going to be nothing else going on in campus, just going to have worship. And we're going to have a shorter time of worship where we're going to sing about two or three songs and have a short message. And then we're going to head over to Walter Hill Elementary along along with Restoration Church. And it's going to be time just about to help do some things that they need done. And it's really a way to love and care for the school even more. And so they only can do so much. And so it's a way that we could come alongside them. [00:06:04]

It's not about just getting, you know, kids to have collecting eggs and doing some fun stuff. It's going to be an opportunity for us to be as a church to love our community, to let them know that we are here, that we care for them. And then a way to be able to show them the fellowship that we have as a church family. And so it's going to be, there's plenty of ways to serve. Like we'll need people before the event to help stuff and put candy and some eggs. We'll need some candy. But on the day of the event, we'll have set up and tear down, of course. But we're hoping to offer donuts and coffee and, Lord willing, some bounce house activities and stuff like that for the kiddos. But it will be a great event to be able to draw in families to that. The last time we did a family event on our campus, we had over 400 people come to this. And so we would love an opportunity to be able to, again, just be a gospel opportunity to show the love of Jesus to these families. And then it's going to be a great way to say, hey, if you don't have anywhere to worship tomorrow, have you come join us in worship here at Walter Hill or at Restoration Church. And so those are some upcoming things that we have going on. Again, be on the lookout probably Tuesday afternoon, maybe Wednesday morning for an email about how to get more details about serving on that. And it's one of the blessings of partnering with the church that sometimes it's hurry up and wait for information. And that's kind of where we're at. And so grateful for all of you to be able to partner with that and more details will to come. Let me pray for us and we'll jump right into worship. [00:07:58]

And as they begin to eat everything in their surrounding, in their environment, they go into the chrysalis stage, a cocoon that they go into that you see right there in the middle and as they're in this process, their body completely transforms completely into a whole new creation as they come out as a beautiful butterfly and it's not, it's very similar to the gospel isn't it, before the gospel we're very similar to this caterpillar over here, we're living in a way we have one purpose that we just want to devour everything around us right, consume as much as we can and be driven by our sin but then once we come into relationship with Jesus, once we receive and hear and receive the full gospel, the old passes away and the new comes to life, we become a new creation. [00:30:01]

But as I was thinking about that and as we're going to look into our passage, we're going to see how the gospel completely transform our lives, there's a struggle though, isn't it? The struggle that we buy into sometimes a partial gospel, we don't have all the full truths, we don't buy fully into fully believing and accepting all that Jesus has to offer and as I was thinking about this and thinking about butterflies, I remember one of the great movies of my time of Bug's life and I thought about this guy here where he goes and he is a caterpillar and he obviously eats way too much and then he becomes a beautiful butterfly in his own image but you don't really see a much change and difference in his life, do you? And it's a very funny story in a movie, you laugh but as I was thinking about this, how common it is that sometimes that we look more like this, that there's not a much difference of our former life and our new life and that when we see God's word, we want to make sure that we allow the gospel to fully transform us into a complete and new creation in that. And so when we pick it up in Acts, we're going to see how Paul is continuing his ministry in Ephesus and we're going to reveal the contrast between a partial understanding only having bits and pieces of understanding the gospel and the power of the complete message of Jesus because the reality is this, that it impacts the community when we apply it fully to our lives. Most of us are familiar with the Great Commission, I'll have it on the screen for us, it says this, Jesus, this has been Jesus' very last words on earth speaking to his disciples, he says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I want you to pay attention to this part, teaching them to observe all that I have committed. [00:30:53]

commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. See, Jesus didn't say, hey, I want you to go and share my story, share the gospel, share my love for them, my affection on what I have done. But he says, I want you to teach them all that I've commanded you to do. Not just what you've seen in the past few months, but what you've seen for the entirety of my ministry, the entire, all the things that I've been teaching you. I want you to remember what it means to, to love your neighbor as yourself. I want you to remember and teach those to understand of applying the gospel fully to every aspect of your life. He's like, I didn't come and give and lay down my life so that there would not be transformation. No, we want to transform people into new creations, allowing them an opportunity to be able to share the gospel. Now, the reality is, sharing the gospel isn't just the job of the pastor or, or missionaries, but it's the call of every believer, isn't it? All are called to go and share. And even if you go back into it, it says, go, therefore. The literal translation is, as you are going, as you're going about your daily life, we're to be sharing the gospel with others. [00:33:01]

And he found some disciples and asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? No, they told him. We haven't even heard there was a Holy Spirit. And to what were you baptized? He asked them. And said, John's baptism, they replied. And Paul said, John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him. And that is in Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. And they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. And now there were about twelve men in all. [00:34:38]

But as followers of John, they would have been familiar of his teaching where it's recorded in Luke. And it says this, John answered them all, saying, I baptize you with water. But he who is mightier than I is coming. And the strap whose sandals I am not worthy to untie, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. See, Paul went on to explain the full gospel to them. He wanted them to fully understand that just being baptized by water isn't what saves you. It is a representation, but it's when you receive the Holy Spirit is when you experience salvation for your sins. And so he walked them through the wholeness, the fullness of the gospel. Because he understood that when we embrace all the details of the gospel, that is what transforms lives. [00:35:45]

The demons believed in Jesus. They knew who Jesus was, right? The Pharisees believed in God, but it was when they surrendered their lives to Jesus is when we see salvation come. And so just knowledge of who God is wasn't enough for salvation, but it is surrendering to Him as our Lord and Savior is when they received the Holy Spirit. [00:36:50]

They haven't received Him, and their lives have been transformed by the fullness of the gospel. And so when they heard the gospel for the very first time, these 12 disciples' lives were transformed for all eternity. Jesus said this, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. There has to be something that changes and shifts in our lives. We can't just be still looking like the caterpillar with some wings on the back. There has to be full transformation that takes place in our lives, and that's the work in the Holy Spirit that does in us. See, God doesn't say, Come clean yourself and come to me. No, no. The Holy Spirit takes that part. But what He allows is that we have to allow the Holy Spirit to come and be able to give our lives and our hearts to that. [00:37:46]

See, the reality is, I was meeting with a gentleman this past week, and as I was meeting with him, I made it very clear to him. I said, Any advice that I give to you isn't worth much. And so I said, Let me be very clear. The advice and things that I'm going to give you comes from God's word, and I'm going to read God's word to you, and we're going to share that because it is God's word who puts our feet to the path. It is God who leads us in wisdom and discernment. It is God who does this. And so often we want to think and take the responsibility on ourselves that it's our words, that we need to have the right words to be able to share with people. We need to have the right sayings, the catchy lines to be able to share and introduce people to the gospel. But the reality is that we need to introduce people to God's word and not our own. See, it's not enough to have partial understanding because it's not the knowledge that saves you. It's the surrendering to the gospel message. And that is that we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. [00:38:47]

And we can do everything we can in our own ability, and yet our good will never be good enough to save ourselves. It's only when we surrender to the fact that Jesus came to give his life for our sins, to ransom the penalty that we have. And when we surrender our lives to Jesus, that is when we experience true transformation, when we receive the message of the gospel, and then we'll get empowerment of the Holy Spirit. [00:39:50]

So the question for us, are we only experiencing the half -truths of the gospel, like John's disciples, or are we embracing the fullness of what Jesus has to offer for all of us? And see, for all of us, we have to be able to spend time in God's word, remind ourselves regularly of our need for the gospel. The gospel message isn't just for the times of salvation, but it's what sustains us throughout our daily life. It's what holds us here. The gospel is what has allowed us to be able to be here this morning. And it's the gospel message that compels us to be able to take this message of hope to others. It's what stirs us up to be able to go and share the gospel with other people. [00:40:19]

And this went on for two years so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. See, despite the constant rejection, despite the hardships, the difficulties, and even just the normal stresses of life, Paul didn't give up on sharing the gospel with the people. [00:41:35]

If anybody had a right to say, you know what, this isn't working out. I need to take a step back. Paul probably had a good excuse in the world's standards. He'd been beaten, he'd been left for dead, he'd been constantly being threatened in his life, constantly being on threat, yet he would continue to go back to the same very people who meant to do him harm. [00:41:58]

So he daily engaged in conversations at the synagogues and in public places, boldly proclaiming the word of God and continued to share the message with the Jewish people, the very people who would threaten his life over and over again. See, Paul was committed and demonstrated boldness that we should have in sharing the gospel. [00:42:17]

See, this past week, a group of us were meeting, and we had a kind of a brainstorm session of walking through how to be able to share the gospel in our workplace. [00:44:10]

He didn't give more power to Paul and less power to you. No, the same access to the power of the Holy Spirit is available to all of us. And it's when we rely on that power, we're able to take the gospel message, even in difficult situations. [00:46:12]

Taking everyday conversations to transition into how can we talk about Jesus in this moment. And one thing I love in here is when people say like, yeah, I was at the doctor's office the other day and we were talking and all of a sudden I start sharing my faith with them all the more. [00:48:33]