I'm not interested, but find out who is interested in our latest
episode of Liberty at Home. Hello, Eastonite citizens of the
Commonwealth and well, everyone else.
Welcome to our latest edition of Liberty at Home.
My name is Pastor Adam Rivero from the Liberty Baptist Church
here in Easton over on Washington Street.
And Speaking of Easton, today, as always, we're broadcasting
from Easton, MA, where we reside, just minutes away from
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Stoughton and Mansfield.
And I can tell you haven't lived until you stand on the Mansfield
Station platform, as the Acela goes by 150 miles an hour.
Well, this week I want to consider a phrase I hear quite
often as a pastor. I'm not interested and give it a
bit of A twist. But first, let's read today's
text in Romans chapter 5, verses 7 through 9.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet per adventure.
For a good man, some will even dare to die.
But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we're
yet sinners, Christ died for us much more than being now
justified by His blood. We shall be saved from wrath
through Him. Whenever I'm asked what our
church's mission statement is, I always respond with Matthew 2819
and 20. Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing Him in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you.
The mission of our church is the Great Commission which compels
us to reach our community with the Gospel.
Now, we do this on a regular basis through house to house
visitation, gospel literature, and special days at our church,
amongst many other things. We're not looking to start
arguments on people's doorsteps as some groups are prone to do.
Rather, we're simply wanting to express the love and truth of
Christ and to let folks know they are always welcome at
Liberty Baptist Church. Now, inevitably when I walk up
to someone's house, every once in a while I'll get a curt not
interested from the person at home.
It's humorous to me that oftentimes folks will tell me
they aren't interested not even knowing who I am or what I'm
even doing. I could have been coming with a
sweepstakes prize. They don't know.
Of course, we always respect the wishes rather and privacy of
anyone who asks us to leave, but that pithy phrase always sticks
out in my mind. Not interested In my maybe
overactive mind. I wonder, what's the person not
interested in? Are they not interested in
talking? Are they not interested in
church? Are they not interested in God?
The vague expression of not interested is actually pretty
open-ended, leaving a lot to the imagination.
Recently, after having someone informed me that they weren't
interested as I was walking up their driveway, I had a random
thought go through my head and I'm glad I didn't say it out
loud because I don't know that it would have been received
well, but the thought was true nonetheless.
My thought was this. You may not be interested in
God, but God is interested in you.
The scriptures talk much about God's great love for us, even
when that love isn't reciprocated.
Remember Romans 5 verses 7 through 9 that we just read?
And also first John chapter 4 verses 9 and 10 echoes the
sentiment of that passage when it says in this was manifested
the love of God toward us because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him,
hearing his love. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Few verses later, First John 4
verse 19 puts it even more succinctly when it says we love
Him because He first loved us. When we weren't interested in
Him, He was still interested in us.
That love is what makes John 316 so powerful.
Christ came to earth to be, as it says in first John, the
propitiation of our sins, meaning that His death on the
cross settled our sin debt and saved us from the wrath to come.
I'm so glad He was interested in me and still is today.
So if you see me coming one day and you tell me you're not
interested, listen, I will be offended, but you need to ask
yourself this question. Just what exactly are you not
interested in? I pray that the answer will lead
you directly to the one who is very interested in you.
Well, before I go, I need to do one more thing.
I need to invite you to visit us at Liberty Baptist Church.
You can find us online via podcast at
livestream@mylibertybaptist.org, but you can also find us at 800
Washington Street right here in Easton.
Have questions? e-mail us at
info@mylibertybaptist.org. Time to go.
So as I sign off from another episode of Liberty at Home, it's
time to remind you that where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there's Liberty. See you next week on Liberty at
Home.