Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast.
Riverbend Church exists to lead all people to know, love, and
live new life in Jesus Christ. We hope that you enjoy this
message. Amen.
Amen.
Welcome to church, everybody. We're doing OK today.
Man, I mean, I heard. I heard nothing.
Not a peep. I I could have heard.
This is inappropriate, Scott. I could have heard a mouse pee
on a cotton ball. Right.
Then in that moment. Welcome to Church Oakwood.
We're grateful that you're here with us, Kathy Head.
We're grateful you're here with us too, my friend.
Coming in here. You are such a rock and such a
pillar. We're grateful for all you do
for this body. Can we give it up for Kathy
Head? I know she hates this.
We stand on your shoulders, my friend.
Thank you for being here, Scott. You're great, too, but, you
know, you're you were less important in that moment.
Right there for me. Oh, good.
Did I say hello? Did I say that we're grateful
that you're here with us, too? I can't wait to see you real
soon. Not going to give away the date,
but I'm coming. We're going to give Gainesville
a taste of what it's like to to see the preacher on the screen.
And so, and I'll be there soon soon enough.
Soon as coach Chris Guthrie lets me do it.
OK. All right.
It's going to be a great day. We're excited.
Back to school, right? Are we back to school?
Anybody back to school? Raise your hand.
Couple of us parents. Parents are the most excited.
No teachers. I know.
We have so many educators. We have administrators.
We got superintendents of school boards in this body.
It's pretty amazing the influence that's in this room.
I was thinking about that this week as I was preparing this
message and thinking about the influence that's going to be
propelled. Out of this room, into what I
think is one of the most amazing mission fields in the world,
right under our feet. The school systems, the
opportunity that's before you. Students, teachers, faculty,
coaches. I know for some teachers and
coaches it's a little more challenging and there's
limitations. And I just want to speak to you
for a moment. Whoever you are in the room, I
want to remind you of the opportunity that you have.
I could name, I could list so many names of teachers and
coaches that impacted my life because of the way that they
loved Jesus right in front of me.
You have an opportunity every day to walk in those doors into
a place where most of us can't go and be the light, be the hope
that these students need students.
You have an opportunity to rub shoulders with other students
that come from all kinds of different backgrounds that most
likely. Have a different, some of them
have a different faith than you parents.
You're not off the hook either, because we've got events coming
and sporting events and all kinds of gatherings that come
with school and parents that are going to be there that you can
have relationships with. Think about the opportunities
that are in front of us to live out what we profess, what we
say. We believe it's exciting later.
At the end of our time, we're going to have some time to pray
over our teachers and it's gonna be, it's gonna be a powerful
time. I hope you don't run out and
have to use the bathroom and miss that.
You know, it really depends on if I can keep it to my clock,
you know what I'm saying? So I'll do my very best with
that in mind and the influence that we have and the opportunity
that we have in front of us. I want us to turn to Acts
Chapter 10, where we're going to find and we're going to look at
2 obstacles that we face. When sharing our faith, I think
it's a timely message for what we're headed into in this new
school year. We're going to look at two men
in this story. We're going to find a Roman
soldier named Cornelius, and we're going to find the Apostle
Peter, who you know very well, Simon Peter.
And I want to kind of set the stage and unpack who who these
men were before we get into the text together.
Cornelius was an officer, as I mentioned, in the Roman army,
and he was a part of the Italian cohorts that were known as the
most loyal to the Romans. This is important because of a
patriotic Jew, an Orthodox Jew. Someone like Peter would
naturally look at someone like Cornelius and dislike them or
even hate them. So God is about to bring these
two men together that at best don't like each other and don't
associate with one another. They don't know each other yet,
but they know that they don't like the other's kind,
especially when it comes to the Jews looking at the Gentiles.
And Cornelius was certainly one of these.
He hadn't heard the good news yet about Jesus.
He the Bible says he was a God fearing man, that he prayed and
and did alms and he did a lot of good things, but he wasn't yet a
Christian. And then we pick it up in Acts
chapter 10 verse three. It says this about the 9th hour
of the day. Cornelius saw clearly in a
vision, an Angel of God come to him and say Cornelius, he he
spoke to him by name, and if I had more time I would talk about
how Cornelius wasn't a Christian yet, but God sent a messenger
and the first word out of the messenger's mouth from God was
Cornelius's name because he always leads with a personal
touch of love. It's beautiful.
Verse four. Cornelius stared at him in
terror and said. What is it, Lord?
And he said to him, your prayers and your alms have ascended as a
memorial before God. And now?
Send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.
He is lodging with one Simon, a Tanner, whose house is but the
sea I love. These are the moments where I'm
like, God, could you not have put Simon Peter in a different
guy's house that wasn't named Simon?
Or are you just really trying to make sure that they get it
exactly right and don't miss? But anyway, me imagine if he
would have brought the other Simon with him and just
accidentally messed up there. No, OK verse.
We're going to go to verse 9 the next day.
As they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter
went up the to the housetop about the 6th hour to pray.
OK Cornelius is at his house. He's visited by an Angel.
God sends a messenger to him and says I need you to send people
to go get Peter and bring Peter back to you so that you could
talk to Peter. That's odd enough.
Now we Fast forward to Peter on the rooftop praying.
And while he was praying, he became hungry and he wanted
something to eat. But while they were preparing
it, he fell into a trance, and he saw the heavens open, and
something like a great sheet descended, being let down by its
four corners upon the earth. And in it were all kinds of
animals, reptiles, birds. And there came a voice to Peter.
Rise, Peter, kill and eat and watch Peter's response.
By no means, Lord. So here we have Peter.
The upon this rock I will build my church.
Peter, the guy that Jesus said was going to be the rock in his
first words when he gets this vision out of his mouth and he
knows it's the Lord because he calls him Lord and he says by
number means Lord. This is fascinating to me that
there could ever be a sentence that was or that was
orchestrated. No.
And Lord in the same sentence. Like, I'm recognizing your
authority, your sovereignty, and my submission to that because
I'm calling you Lord. However, no.
By no means Lord. So we have Peter over here
telling God no, which is kind of a habit for him, but that's
another story. And then we have Cornelius over
here. What is it, Lord?
Speak to me, Lord. Fascinating, when you look at
the different responses. Let's keep going, he said.
By no means, Lord, for I've never eaten anything that is
common or unclean. In other words, I've never eaten
certain animals that, according to the Levitical law, are
unclean. And if I were to eat them, I
would be made unclean according to the Levitical law that I've
been living by my whole life, Which, by the way you wrote God
if you don't. Remember.
So by no means will I do that, because I see in this vision
that there are animals that I'm not supposed to eat, that we
call common or unclean. And look at what God said.
The voice came to him again a second time.
What God has made clean, do not call common.
What God has made clean, do not call impure.
What God has made clean Do not call unacceptable.
What God has made clean, we're going to come back to that and
spend a lot of time there. This happened three times for
emphasis, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
Now, while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision
that he had seen might mean, behold the men who were sent by
Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the
gate. He He's on the roof.
And he's getting this vision. And the men that God sent are
just right down there at the gate, ready to talk to him.
And they called out, and they asked whether Simon, who was
called Peter, was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering
the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold those three men.
They're looking for you. So rise and go down and
accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent
them. I find it fascinating here that
he gave no detail of who these men were.
He gave him no explanation of why rise, go down, accompany
them without hesitation. Why?
Because I have sent them. When Cornelius's men got there,
Peter was no doubt shocked, because he knew that they
weren't Jews when they opened the door.
Of course he could tell who they were and and where they were
from and. He would have immediately
wondered why this Why is God sending them here?
What? What is this about?
The the idea that God could even send Gentiles, could even speak
to Gentiles would have blown his mind.
Surely these aren't the people that you were talking about,
God, They can't hear you. They're not your people.
They're common. They're unclean.
We don't associate with them. God was expanding Peter's mind
and his heart because what God has made clean don't call
common. Peter in this moment was
beginning to realize that this vision was about more than food.
So he invited them in, and the Bible says that he lodged them
with him. He lodged them.
He treated them as guests, which is unbelievable.
Normally a Jew would have at best opened the door, talked to
the Gentiles and then sent them on their way.
And even if the Gentiles would have said I need somewhere to
stay tonight, the Jews would have said, well, it's too bad
you can't stay here. Nice to meet you.
Stay out on the St. Peter doesn't do that.
He invites them in. No Orthodox Jew would have
invited a gentile into his house.
No chance. No chance of even having
fellowship with them inside. No chance, certainly no chance
of sitting down at a table together and eating It was
forbidden according to their tradition.
But God is expanding Peter's mind and heart.
He's opening up his heart. Don't call calm and what I have
made clean. So here we have Cornelius and
Peter, two men very different from very different backgrounds.
Not associated. 30 miles apart geographically. 1,000,000 miles
apart relationally. OK, we got the picture.
And then Peter, the next day gets up and goes with the men to
see Cornelius. This was a major step of
obedience to walk 30 miles. And I know some of us drove 30
miles today and still made it in time for worship.
So that's not a thing. For some of us, it's like 30
miles is no big deal. But if you're walking and you're
walking in sandals, you know, not a lot of support.
They aren't on clouds. All right, OK, 30 miles.
He's walking to go see a guy who he would have never associated
with. Before and then when he got
there, scripture says in verse 25 of chapter 10 that he entered
in that he went in the house. And these are the kind of verses
that we read and say yes, So what?
But in reality, that never would have happened.
No Orthodox Jew would have entered into a Gentile home.
This was another level from him. And it's one thing to invite the
Gentile into your home. It's a whole another thing to go
into his home, to be seen. Even walking through that door
proved Peter's heart was beginning to change.
Their customs and their traditions strictly prohibited
him from doing it, and he did it anyway.
You see, the subject of this chapter is not so much the
conversion of Cornelius, which we're going to see next week.
The subject of this chapter is more the transformation in the
heart of Peter because the Spirit had spoken and he said
what God has made clean do not call.
Common In the Old Testament, there was holy and there was
common and the holy. The the things that were holy
and clean were made common when they came in contact with
something else that was common. The only way it could be made
holy again is if it went through a ritual cleansing process, and
we don't have time to go through all of that.
But it's important for us to know.
That this, this, it was this way for a very long time and and the
Holy Spirit of God is asking Peter to do something that went
against everything that he knew. When something was made holy it
was called consecration, and when something was made common
it was called desecration. And Peter knew this very well,
and he knew that going to associate and eat with another
gentile. Who was called common would have
been a desecration for him. But God had spoken what God has
made clean Do not call common just so we're on the same page
and have a proper perspective. Unless you are from Jewish
descent, most of us in this room are probably Our ancestry is
traced to Gentile descent, so we.
Quite literally would not be able to be here as a redeemed
people if it weren't for chapters like this in the Bible
where God turned his people around to go and minister and
share the good news of his son Jesus with those of our
ancestry. We're going to look at 2
obstacles today, like I mentioned before, that we find
here in this narrative we find these two obstacles, and I
believe we're still dealing with them today.
When it comes to sharing the Good News about Jesus, obstacle
#1, disqualifying others from hearing the good news based on
who they are or based on what they've done, we.
Limit who we're willing to share Jesus with.
We limit who we're willing to share our lives with.
We limit who we're willing to associate with because we've
disqualified them, much like Peter and the Jews were
disqualifying Gentiles. If it weren't for this vision,
Peter would have never stepped foot in that home.
You have to, you have to understand the ethnic division,
the racial tension was so significant, it never would have
happened. The tradition would not allow
it. It was prohibited.
And we certainly deal with these similar divisions and tensions
and today. And I believe it's still an
obstacle where we're disqualifying others from
hearing the good news because we're not willing to associate
with them. Look at Romans one.
This is from Paul's heart about the same subject.
Romans 114 says I'm obligated both to Greeks and non Greeks
both to wise and the foolish. That that is why I am so eager
to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
This is huge. That that God has called him to
go into the people that nobody else is going to, to share about
Jesus, He says in verse 16, which we know very well.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God that
brings salvation to who everyone who believes.
Everyone who, not just the Jews, not just the people of God.
Because we know that God designed it and he orchestrated
it this way for his people to be the Jews, for for his people to
to begin this movement. But now, because of Jesus, his
people aren't just of. Bloodline that there's a new
bloodline that's been established by the blood of our
Savior, and he has fulfilled the law.
He has abolished the walls of hostility that keep us away from
associating with one another so that his good news could be
spread to the ends of the earth. And Paul says, I'm not ashamed
of this gospel. It's the power of God that
brings salvation to all who believe first to the Jew.
Yep. Then to the Gentile, now is the
day. Now is the time to spread this
good news. No one is disqualified from
hearing the good news. What God has made clean.
Don't call common. Peter's beginning to realize
this is about more much more than food.
It's ultimately about people, souls.
As we sink deeply into this, I just want to remind us all like,
the gospel is good news. That's literally what it means.
And we throw these words around a lot.
And I already have, and I maybe you're like, well, I need you to
explain what it is. Let me give it to you just
really quickly here. The good news about Jesus is
that we were deserving of wrath because of our sin, but Jesus
came and died and took on that wrath in our place so that all
who trust in his name will be forgiven of sins and and that he
would absorb the wrath that we deserved.
That's what it means, that everyone who believes will will
be saved will be saved from this wrath that was due.
Because the wages of sin was death.
But the free gift of God is eternal life.
But can I tell you this is only good news for the needy.
This is only good news for the Sinner and the Sinner that
understands their need. When the Pharisees asked Jesus
why he was eating with tax collectors and sinners that that
those that were hated, those that were, that we would not
associate with the Pharisees. And why are you doing that?
Why are you in there with them? This is against tradition.
Jesus said it's not the healthy. You need a doctor, but the sick.
Jesus says, not the healthy that need the doctor.
It's the sick. I've not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.
So the gospel is good news for the needy, for the Sinner that
understands his need or her need of a savior.
Jesus came to save sinners, and that's good news for the needy.
Think about it this way. It's good news got The gospel is
good news for the thief. The gospel is good news for the
Buddhist, for the Muslim. The gospel is good news for the
compulsive liar that you can't stand at work in the cubicle
next to you. The gospel is good news for that
gang member at your school. The gospel is good news for the
adulterer. The gospel is good news for the
addict. The gospel is good news even for
the man that's on death row that's marching his way to the
end. Should I remind you of the man
that was hanging next to Jesus on the cross?
And in the final moments, Jesus forgave him and gave him access
into heaven? It was good news for him there.
The fate that he placed in Jesus is what saved him.
But I wonder if we limit when and where and with whom we share
the good news. I wonder if we disqualify
people. I wonder if we live as though we
believe that everyone who believes truly can be saved.
If God called you today to go share with someone, maybe
someone that personally you despise, what would you do?
What would you do? What boundaries have we put up
and that are keeping us from certain types of people?
Who are you unwilling to share the good news with?
In 1998, there was a 15 year old in Chicago that got shot on a
basketball court, an outdoor park.
He was playing with his friends, and a disagreement happened,
shot twice in the abdomen. One of the bullets perforated
his aorta and his two friends were with him and they picked
him up and they're trying to take him to the hospital, which
gratefully was nearby. And they're trying to get him
there and they're struggling and they they finally get him right
up to the door and and one of the friends says hey run in
there and tell him that we've that we're here and he needs
help. And so the the the friend goes
inside and he's in the ER and he said I need some help out here.
I need some help out here and nobody's helping him.
And he goes to the desk and says I need somebody to come help.
My, my friend has been shot and the hospital staff told him it's
against our policy to go outside and help anyone.
He has to be brought in for us to treat him.
So he runs outside and when he gets outside there's a policeman
right there with with him and sorry, the policeman's trying to
help him. Policeman runs back inside and
says we need somebody to come out here and get the get the
boy. We need somebody, somebody.
He's dying. We need somebody to come.
And the hospital staff again says we cannot help him out
there. Policeman says, what, do you
have a Gurney? Do you have a stretcher?
Do you have anything that I can use?
They said, no Sir, they're all gone.
I don't have anything. And so the policeman's looking
all over the place and he finally finds a wheelchair, gets
the wheelchair, takes it out, puts him in the wheelchair and
brings him in. And the the the boy is almost to
the end and they finally get him up on the table and they're
treating him and they're they're trying to help him.
They're trying to save his life. But about an hour later, he he
dies. They interviewed the police
officer that was trying to help. Later, the Chicago Tribune
quoted this police officer as saying.
They just ignored me, he said. In my 34 years as a police
officer, I've never seen anything like this, and then the
director of the Illinois Department of Public Health at
the time was quoted as saying it's important for people in
healthcare to be first and foremost caregivers and not
lawyers, he said. I know there's no legal
obligation for them to provide care outside of their doors, but
morally we would expect them to do the right thing.
And it boils in us, right? When I read that story, it's
boiling. Like, how can anyone who has
what it takes to save a person disqualify them from getting the
very thing that they need that could save their life?
How can that? How can you?
How could you even imagine? We're outraged at the thaw, and
yet we do the very same thing because we have what it takes.
We have what they need. We have the truth of the gospel.
We have the good news that they need to hear.
And so often we say, well, you got to come in here to hear it.
We'd love for you to come. We'd love for you to come.
But if it's out there, if I have to do it, there was a man that
was on death row in England in the 1800s.
His name was Charles Peace and just before he was executed an
Anglican minister came to him and and he read what's called
the consolation of religion to him.
And this is something that they do it on.
Back in those days when there was someone on death row, they
they gave him one final chance here.
And and he was reading this and and he was reading it half
heartedly. And he said these words.
Those who die without Christ experience hell.
But it was kind of more like this.
Those who die without Christ experience hell.
Hell is the pain of forever dying without the release which
death itself can bring. That's what he said flatlined
and Charles Peace the one on death row he he stopped the
minister as he said that. And he said, Sir, if I believed
what you say about this, hell if I believe what you're saying and
what the Church of God has been saying to me.
If I if I believed that that even if England were covered
with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, and
if need be, I would get down on my hands and my knees.
Even if it were just to save one soul from an eternal hell like
that. But I listen to you, Minister.
Sounds to me like you're just checking off a box.
You're just reading what they told you to read.
I'm not even sure that I believe you.
Because if I believed that this ripped me up this week, this
challenged me deeply. What are we doing with this
opportunity? There's people outside dying
apart from Jesus. Peter's obedience declared that,
you know, my tradition says no, but God says yes, and I've been
given this call. We have disqualified those
Gentiles from this inheritance, but Christ has died for them
too. God was softening his heart, and
he and he softens our hearts even in the deepest prejudices,
even in the strongest segregation.
He softens the Christian's heart to break down those barriers and
go to those who need to hear about him.
Don't disqualify anyone from the opportunity of hearing the good
news. I think that's obstacle #1,
obstacle #2. Many of us accept the lie that
we are disqualified to share the good news.
I'm afraid that many of us, especially in the American
church, we've accepted the lie from the enemy or from someone
else or from ourselves that says that we're not qualified, that
we've disqualified ourselves from even getting in the game.
And when we see these words from God, from the Holy Spirit that
said what God has made clean, do not call calm.
And I want you to hear me today that that goes for you too.
What God has made clean, don't call common.
Don't let yourself fall into this trance and these lies.
That you're not qualified. That you're not clean.
That you're not capable because you're not pure.
Some of you in this room need to hear that over your life today.
Maybe you feel common this morning.
Maybe you feel unclean and pure, unworthy, unqualified.
Don't call calm. And what God has made clean.
Has he made you clean? Has he declared you righteous?
I'm going to keep reminding you of scriptures like first John
19. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Nothing is stopping us from
walking in repentance, and we so often allow the lies of
disqualification, shame and guilt to hold us back from
repenting, turning back to God for this cleansing.
Because if he's declared you righteous, I love this quote
from Charles Spurgeon, he said. The gospel principle is this.
Whom once he loves, he never leaves but loves them to the
end. Whom once he loves, he never
leaves and he loves them to the end.
But, Jared, you don't know where I've been.
You don't know what I've done. You don't know you.
It's easy for you to talk about. You don't know.
Listen to these words of Paul in First Corinthian 6, starting in
verse 9. Or do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
You may be saying, Yeah, I know full well, that's my problem
right now. Do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Here's where it gets scary. Do not be deceived.
Neither the sexually immoral nor the idolaters, nor the
adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor
the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will
inherit Kingdom of God. Our best hope when we read a
list like that is, well, I don't know, three or four of those
words, so maybe they don't apply to me.
You know, like that's our best hope.
That was supposed to be like, a little funny.
I don't. I know this is the heavy part,
but I just look what you said and such were praise God for the
past tense right here. Such were some of you, but you
were washed. You were sanctified.
You were justified, but such were some of you.
You walked in this way. This is good news for the needy.
This is good news for the Sinner, even the Sinner that
practices some of the worst kinds of sin.
Because they can be washed, they can be clean, they can be
sanctified, they can be justified.
If you've been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by
the Spirit of our God, if you've repented of your sins and placed
your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of those sins, then
you've been declared righteous. And those whom he loves, he
never leaves. He loves them to the end,
declared righteous, made clean, and qualified to go and talk
about it. But we treat God so often as if
he wanted us to be good enough in the 1st place before he would
lavish his grace upon us. That's not how he works, is he
loves us first with an everlasting love.
Doesn't withhold his love from us until we're good enough.
Christ didn't die for Saints. He died for sinners.
He was the only one who was worthy.
He was the only true servant. Jesus was the only one who
didn't sin. He died for sinners.
He didn't come into the world because of any righteousness in
us. He came to die for our sins.
He came to become our righteousness.
The work of God is not for those who deserve salvation, but those
who are all together undeserving of it.
Do you understand that this is good news?
But if we're not careful, we begin to believe the lie that we
for some reason deserve it more than others that are not in
here. We believe this lie from the
enemy, that we are of a different standing than those
who aren't a part of this fellowship, and then we don't go
and do what we're called to do. But in reality, God's mercy is
like a great flood that rises and rises and rises so high that
it covers all the guilt and shame of sin, covers all of the
sin to never be seen again. And here we are trying to lift
up that guilt and lift up that shame, to bring it up from the
water so that we can see it and we can think about it and we can
believe the lie, that we're unqualified to step forward and
speak on God's behalf. He set up, though your sins are
like scarlet out. I'll make you wider than snow,
but maybe you feel unqualified today.
I certainly understand that. I want to share with you a story
about a soul winner who had every reason, every excuse in
the book to be on to not be able, not be capable, not be
qualified to share her faith. You know, French is spoken in
many African countries. Over 20 African countries speak
French because of the colonization that happened.
And there's a missionary that tells a story of an African
elderly lady who came to know the Lord because he shared the
gospel with her. And this elderly lady, she was
blind and she couldn't read or write, blind and illiterate.
And after she heard the gospel and professed fate in Jesus, the
first thing that she said was how, how can I go to how can I
go share this with somebody else?
Who who's where can I go to share this with somebody else.
And the missionary begin to think, wow, this is going to be
kind of challenging for her. I need to think about this.
We need to be creative about how she can learn the Bible because
she can't read it, she can't see it, how she's going to go and
interact with people in this Third World environment.
And that the elderly lady came back the next day and and she
said, can you give me a Bible that's in French?
The missionary gave her the Bible and she said, can you
underline John 316, that verse that you were telling me about,
can you underline it in red? And can you mark that page so
that I can feel it and I can know where it is?
And the missionary did what she said.
And the missionary was thinking, I don't what's going to happen.
I don't know what she's going to do.
So he wanted to follow her and he followed her to the
schoolhouse of the boys school. She went to the front.
She waited for the school to be let out.
And when the school was let out she listened for people to come
and and she would say, excuse me, excuse me, do you know how
to read French? And some people would pass her
by but sometimes a boy would stop and say Oh yes, I I can
help you. She I'm blind and I can't read.
Do you know how to read French? Can you read this verse that's
underlined in red and when the boys would read the verse about
Jonathan? For God so loved the world that
he gave his only son, that whosoever would believe in him
would not perish but have everlasting life, she would say.
Do you know what this means? Boom, open door.
Share the gospel with them. First week, the first week on
the job, straight to the mission field.
She couldn't see, she couldn't read, didn't matter.
Something different was burning inside of her.
And the Missionary tells the story that 20 four of those boys
that she led to the Lord became pastors and preached before
multiple crowds where multitudes eventually came to know Jesus
because of this elderly, blind and illiterate servants
faithfulness. Last story for today, DL Moody,
an amazing evangelist who some say led over 1,000,000 people to
the Lord through his evangelism efforts.
Before he became a Christian, he was in and out of Sunday School
class, living in Boston. There was a teacher that he
didn't really know very well, but he knew who he was.
DL Moody was working in a shop behind the counter and he said
this. One day that teacher came behind
the counter while I was at work and he put his hand upon my
shoulder and he talked to me about Christ and my soul.
And I had not felt that I even had a soul until then.
And this is what he said, he said.
This is a very strange DL, Moody said to himself.
This is a very strange thing. Here's a man who's never seen me
till lately, and he's weeping over my sins.
Here's a man who doesn't even know me, but he's caring enough
to look me in the eyes and say that I matter to God.
And this is what this is what he said that struck me, that shook
me to the core, DL Moody said. I don't remember what my teacher
said, but I can still feel the power of that man's hand on my
shoulder. Later that night, he went to
church. He heard the gospel, responded
in faith to believe it. That teachers encounter, that
teachers love, that teachers care, that, that teachers
opening up the door for just a conversation is what led him to,
later that night receive the message of the gospel teacher,
coach, administrator. This is our opportunity.
This is what can be done. This is what we're called to and
for all of us. Are we allowing the enemy or
anyone else to convince us that our that we're common and not
able to carry the gospel to others.
Maybe you're in this room. Maybe you're in the room in
Oakwood. Maybe you're online.
And as we're talking about this good news, we're talking about
sin and our need for a Savior. Maybe you're sitting here
thinking, I I know I I do need a Savior.
I know I am a Sinner. I know I am unclean.
And today, maybe today is the day where you want to be made
clean. Wherever you are, whatever
you've done, no matter where you're coming from today maybe
today's the day God's pulling on your heart, drawing you to
himself to be made clean. Can I invite you in just a
moment in Oakwood, here in Gainesville, to come have a
conversation? I'll be down here.
Others are here. If God's drawing you don't leave
this room without coming to ask me or someone else what it takes
to be saved, I'll show you from Scripture.
Because all have fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages
of sin is death, But the free gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ. If you confess with your mouth
that He's Lord, if you believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved.
Would invite us here in Gainesville to stand as we
prepare to sing one more song of worship.
Oakwood, we love you so much. We hope you have a great day.
Pastor Greg. You can take it from here.
As we stand and we sing one more song, we consider what it means
to follow Jesus. Want to pray for us.
And I want to invite you to move and respond.
If God is leading you, Father God in heaven, I pray that you
soften hearts right now. You speak clearly that you move
in power, that you don't allow us to be apathetic.
In these moments, she helped us to surrender and submit to Your
Lordship and your authority, that you helped us to fall into
Your loving embrace. We love you and we praise You in
Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast.
Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect.
You can head over to our website Riverbendchurchlife.