Immediate Action: Responding to the Gospel Call

[Music] [Applause]

Good morning! Let's stand together singing what is our hope, Christ alone. The whole entire days, come on spring teachers, we will stand into the grave, Christ delivered to live Christ, and when Christ is on forever, everybody's days goodbye.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we bless you and praise you. Thank you for those that came and made confession in our early church today. And Lord, I pray that you would draw us all in this service unto yourself. Bless our Warrington campus this hour, pray God's favor to rest there and draw those people unto yourself that meet there on the west side of our city. We love you, we bless you, we worship you and thank you for the hope of Heaven that is ours today in Jesus' name, amen and amen.

Welcome! Glad to see all of you today, those of you that are online with us at this 11 o'clock hour, thank you for coming, those on television and radio, grateful that you would join us here at Olive Baptist Church. For those of you that are here in the room, if you're a guest with us today, hope you'll find a guest card. They're parked in front of you, they're in the few racks, you'll pull one out, fill it out on both sides, and drop it in the offering plate when it comes by a little later in the service. That'd be a wonderful help to us, and we'd love to get to know you just a little bit better. So you find that card and that'll be good.

I'm glad to see you today. Thanks for coming. We're right in the middle of summer and lots of things going on. This has been a busy, busy week across this place. Half of Escambia County was driving between here and Montgomery on I-65 yesterday; I was there and I can testify. So I know a lot of people are on the road and there are different places. I've had several texts telling me this morning, "I'm watching Pastor, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here and I'm tuning in. I'll be back in my seat next week." So we welcome all of you back when you get here. But for those of you in the room, thank you for coming and being in the room.

So as you stand, turn to the person next to you and say, "Glad to see you in church this morning." So as we rise, just turn, greet somebody, let them know that you're glad to see them. John's going to come and lead us as we lift our voices in praise. Amen, amen.

Sing this song about the greatness of God, lift up your voice. I want to be close to you, Lord, singing. Come on, somebody here says of Angels Above, singing as one. Hurries, and I want to be near me, God almighty. He prayed, "Let's think about His power, the mountains, the demons running me and the sea. You are the power and the presence, Hallelujah. Afraid of Heaven, love the mountains Majesty, there is the greatest, great eyes crazy, always Hallelujah."

Well, thank you team, thank you for your giving through this part of the year. Halfway there, and when you give, we do a lot of stuff especially with young people during the summer vacation Bible school on both campuses. We've had kids off to Youth Camp, children's camp going here in a few days, and then we've got a mission team going to Costa Rica.

Those that are going on this mission group, I want to ask you if you'd come and just line right across the front down here. We're going to pray over you, all of our high school group going to Costa Rica. So they'll come, yeah they'll join us right here, yeah. Amen. Amen. Sean, I'd like you to come out of our missions office and pray over this group in just a moment. Grateful for them going and being a part, and so we're going to dedicate them unto the Lord and we look forward to that.

Thank all of you who gave special gifts. Chris gave a special gift for the time they bid on his hairdo and he got a haircut because of the missions offering. But we're grateful for all of you. We're going to be praying over you, and I encourage you that you would give and pray for this group. And Chris, we leave on Saturday, taking off for 6 days.

All right, so I'm gonna ask this group just to turn and face me and Neil here in the altar, and we're going to ask the favor of the Lord to be on you. Sean will pray, and he'll pray over our offering after he says amen. The choir is going to come sing for us, but I want you to pray and maybe just lift your hand this way with him. Wouldn't you just pray?

All Spirit of the Living God be on these that go with the gospel for the show. Yes.

Praying Father, thank you so much for being such a sending God. Your word says that you sent your son Jesus Christ, and today Jesus makes all the difference in our lives and the church was birthed. Thank you, dear God, that Olive Baptist Church is now a sending church because the gospel came to us. Dear God, we want to take the gospel to our neighbors and also to the nations, and I thank you, dear God, for these students who said yes to your call to take the gospel news to Costa Rica. I ask in the mighty name of Jesus that you'll guard them, that you will protect them. Thank you for their faithfulness. Thank you for the church. [Applause]

Today we are convicted of the fact that this generation is going to bring a real awakening in our land. We pray that the light of the gospel will be shining radiantly through the lives of those taking the gospel to Costa Rica. We pray for good health and strength for them, and that God's name will be high and lifted up. We also pray that we can take the gospel to our neighbors and workplaces and shine brightly for God. We are giving back to God what He has entrusted to us, and we ask that He use these gifts for His glory.

At the beginning of this year, a young lady named Bree joined our choir. She shared her gift of writing and singing with us, and we asked if we could borrow one of her songs to sing with a choir and orchestra in church. The song reminds us that we know so much of our Lord Jesus, and that one day we will be able to look Him full in the face and put a face to the name that we have loved for so long.

The song speaks of seeing God's mercy, love, grace, and face. It speaks of the one who saved our times, and of the Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus. We can't wait to see the face of Jesus, and until then, we will be filled with the Spirit.

Paul was put in prison and given some freedom to have his friends minister to him. Felix, the governor, arrived with his wife Drusilla and heard Paul speak about faith in Christ Jesus. Felix became frightened and said he would summon Paul when he had time. He also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, so he sent for him often and conversed with him.

There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved but the name of Jesus. So Felix is listening to Paul speak about faith in Jesus Christ, and he's listening to the gospel and he's listening to the truth of God and he's listening to the power of God and he's listening to the grace of God and he's listening to the mercy of God and he's listening to the love of God and he's listening to the hope of God and he's listening to the promises of God and he's listening to the faithfulness of God and he's listening to the goodness of God and he's listening to the kindness of God and he's listening to the faith of God and he's listening to the power of God and he's listening to the truth of God and he's listening to the Word of God.

Felix was listening to Paul speak about faith in Jesus Christ. He heard the gospel, the truth of God, the power of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the love of God, the hope of God, the promises of God, the faithfulness of God, the goodness of God, the kindness of God, the faith of God, and the Word of God. Paul was often given to sin for Felix and they conversed with each other. After two years, Felix was succeeded by Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul imprisoned. In verse 25, Felix utters the line, "When I find time, I'll hear you."

Churchill once said that there are three reasons why people don't take action: they lack a will, they lack a plan, and they wait for perfection. A deacon added a fourth reason: they are simply sorry. Churchill was a man of action, and this made Felix think of the word "action." The gospel calls for action, not procrastination. Felix said, "When I find time, dear friend, the gospel calls for action, response, faith, a reply." He was telling us that if we don't take action, we will become paralyzed. We must rise and not put it off. We must be about the Father's business and take specific action to the truth of God in our lives.

Paul was preaching to Felix and Drusilla about faith in Christ. He began by outlining three points. He said that the only way to get to heaven is to be righteous, but none of us are righteous. He then quoted Romans 5:18-19, which says that through one act of righteousness, justification of life is given to all men. This act of righteousness is through the death, burial, and blood of the Lord Jesus.

He then moved on to the second point, which was self-control. He pointed out that Felix was unable to control himself when he took Drusilla as his wife, even though she was already married. He then called them to self-control, as the gospel is filled with righteousness. He sent a helper, the Holy Ghost of God, to give us strength to say yes to what we ought to and no to what we ought not. Too many of us don't have self-control and are out of control. We need the self-control of the power of the Holy Spirit of God within our lives.

Paul was preaching righteousness, self-control, and holy living. He said that we will one day stand before God, for it is appointed for man to die once and then comes judgment. Felix was frightened by this and gripped the pew.

People often ask what obedience will cost them, but they should ask what it will cost if they don't obey. God continues to deal with us even after we leave the service. We should not be afraid of what obedience will cost us, but rather what it will cost us if we don't obey.

I was a 17-year-old boy sitting on the back row of a little country church. We'd play a game where we'd all bring dollar bills and put them in the middle. Whoever caught it got to keep the money. I was just ignoring God; if I had a cell phone, there's no telling what I'd done in church. But when the spirit of God walked up and down that pew, He said, "I'm calling you to preach the gospel." I was frightened of what obedience would cost me.

I don't know what God's calling you to do today, but don't have spiritual procrastination. Now is the time, today is the day, this is the moment. Don't be frightened of obedience; it's the safest place in the universe to live is in the center of God's will.

Romans Chapter 2 and verse 13 says it's not the hearers of the law who are just before God but the doers of the law will be justified. James Chapter 1 verse 22 says prove yourselves doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude themselves. If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, they are like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror and then forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed.

How long will you wait, dear friend? How long will you procrastinate? How long will you halt between two opinions? Now is the time, today is the day, this is the moment. Don't be frightened of obedience; it's the safest place in the universe to live.

It's not enough to come and sit; you got to rise and serve. It's not about coming to church; it's about being the church. This morning God has put His finger on your soul and He says now is the time. For some of you, it's as simple as joining Olive Baptist Church. We don't even need more members; we have a commissioning service at the Warrington campus. We commission them to go, so many military personnel come and join our church but then they move across the nation or around the world. You don't come to take their place; you come to take your place.

It's easy to live in Atlanta and retire in Pensacola and come and say you were active there, served and did this and taught. But you know, you need the church and the church needs you. Some of you have had a job that moved you here, you got a brand new baby and it's busy, and then you got two, and then you got a third on the way. Now is the time, today is the day.

Some of you have been saved but you've never been baptized; you've never walked into the water to be baptized. Now is the time, today is the day, this is the moment you need to come and say, "I'm ready, pastor." Some of us are angry at a friend; we've never said, "I'm sorry" or asked for forgiveness. Now is the time, today is the day. God is putting His finger on that pulse and saying now is the time, today is the day.

According to what God says, we are supposed to forgive. At a pastor's house, everything is so spiritual and everybody just loves one another and gets along. Sometimes you just have to say, "I'm sorry, forgive me." Some things you can't even make right, but you can say, "I'm sorry." If you think the devil's after you, you ought to come stay at my house for about a week.

Today is the day of salvation, and God has already dealt with you about this before I even started preaching today. We'll help you, we'll pray with you, and we'll show the word of God. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, the Bible said you'll be saved. You don't save yourself; you just receive what God's given you and embrace His righteousness and count it as yours.

I've thought this week back through some wonderful times I've had, especially with men seeing them saved. I think of my friend John Johnson who played golf all of his retired life. I'll never forget the day he started coming to church and knelt down on the floor and gave his heart and life to Christ. He said if he was getting in, he was getting all the way in. He went to the kitchen and opened up the cabinet underneath the sink and poured out all the liquor. He said, "Lord's call me, I'm just taking action."

I was just a kid preacher at the little old bitty Church, New Lebanon Baptist Church with 40 people. We preached every Sunday and I preached like I was four thousand. Finally, they said I was ready. Nolan Ford led me to Christ when I was just a kid at Vacation Bible School. He pastored another church and invited me over to preach. He told me a story about Jake, a member of his church who would drink too much and come to the church and ask for prayer. We would go into the altar and I would pray for him. Months went by and we did it again.

The next time Jake came, Nolan decided to pray differently. We went over to the church and I raised my hands and said, "Lord Jesus, I'm praying for Jacob. He's decided he's not going to repent; he's just going to keep on drinking, so I'm asking you God to kill him today and take him home to heaven." Jake looked over at me and said, "Pastor, what are you doing?" I said, "I'm praying for God to heal you. I'm praying for God to take you out of your sin." He said, "I didn't mean for you to pray like that." We didn't have much more to say, and he never came back for me to pray for him again.

Some people just want to be pampered, but you don't need to be pampered. You need to repent and get right with Holy God. God's called you today, a day for salvation. Come and be obedient in membership and call the preacher to forgive a brother. I'm sorry some of you come with a burden today deeper than I can comprehend.

John was preaching a sermon entitled "Action Rather Than Spiritual Procrastination." He was encouraging the congregation to take action now and not put things off. He asked them to pray, "Lord, have your way in my life." He then asked Tim Hunter and Sean to come down to the front of the room. He said, "People will come, you come just now while we sing unto the Lord." He then asked everyone to get up across the balcony and come down the stairway. He reminded them to be careful and use the handrail. He said, "Now is the time, this is your moment."

He concluded by saying, "Thank you for joining us for the service at Olive Baptist Church. We're so glad you've chosen to be a part of our worship experience. To find out more about Olive, visit us at olivebaptist.org."