The Nature Of The Gospel

What happens when the church faces its first real moment of cultural and religious opposition, and how does the gospel empower believers to stand firm?

In this sermon on Acts 4:1–22, we walk through the very first time the early church encountered severe resistance—the arrest and trial of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. This message demonstrates that opposition reveals the true nature of the gospel: it is a bold, historical, and exclusive message centered on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Learn how the Holy Spirit transforms broken, hesitant believers into courageous messengers whose lives undeniably reflect that they have "been with Jesus," inspiring us to let the truth of the cross deeply penetrate our hearts until it naturally overflows into daily life.

In this episode, we cover:

• The First Opposition: How the early church responded when confronted and arrested by religious authorities.
• The Nature of the Gospel: Why the message of Christ is inherently bold, historical, objective, and exclusive.
• Boldness over Fear: How the Holy Spirit replaces past shame and fear with supernatural courage.
• An Overflowing Message: Why a deep, personal understanding of the cross naturally impels us to share our faith with others.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:04

This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. For more information about Grand Parkway, visit GrandProquay.org.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Father, thank you for who you are. And I just want to pray that over these seniors and these parents and the families. That with change comes difficulty, that with change comes fear. God, I just want to pray it is well with our soul. Holy Spirit, will you quiet our soul? As they face changes, as we face changes, would you quiet our soul? God, thank you for the cross. Oh, my sin, I bear it no more. God, I pray that we continually become more and more obsessed with the cross. And Holy Spirit, would you right now do a work in this room? God, as we read the word, as I teach the word, would you do a work in hearts? Would you a work and would you do a work in my heart as we continue to worship through the reading and preaching of your word? God, we love you. This is all for your glory. It's your beautiful name, I pray. Amen. Well, good morning. How are we good? Awesome. Hey, if you have your Bibles, would you go ahead and grab those and go to Acts chapter four? Acts chapter four. If you don't have a Bible, you can access it on your device, or you can just relax as the passages that I'm gonna be reading today are gonna be up on the screen. We have another long text today, and I'm excited for all of us to be looking at the same thing together, and that's gonna be in Acts chapter four. Now, speaking of looking at the same thing together, I have a picture here I want to show, okay? Um if you can just bring up that picture for me. Who is this man?

unknown 2:13

Neil McClendon.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

I heard Neil McClendon. Kind of, right? But yes, right here, so this right here is Iron Mike. Well played, sir. Iron Mike Tyson. This is Mike Tyson. So tragically, um, the generation before me, or under me, the people younger than me, um, see this face and think of the actor and now podcaster. Okay, but people my age know that we know that this was, there was a time on earth where this was one of the scariest man walking the planet. He was one of the most ferocious boxers ever. He had a streak in the 80s and 90s where he was absolutely cleaning up. Okay, he was beating up any and everybody is seemingly at his will. And it started becoming, he started becoming known for knocking people out in seconds. There would be this huge lead up to the fight, and then he would end it on the first round. So much so, um, celebrities stopped going to his fights. They would get dressed for the Mike Tyson fight, they would get in the car and drive like they're going to the Mike Tyson fight, and then they would go straight to the after party because it's gonna be so quick. But he was an absolute beast. Now, he had a huge fight lined up one year, and the lead up to that big fight, Tyson was continually asked about this report uh from this reporter about this guy he was about to fight. And the reporter kept going on and on and on about this guy's plan to beat Mike Tyson. He kept saying, Hey, what about his style, Mike? Okay, what about his lateral movement? What about the way he dances in the ring? What about this? What about that? What about and he kept going on and on and on about this guy's fight plan to beat Mike Tyson? And Mike Tyson finally responded to these questions, and his response has become absolutely legendary. He looked at the reporter and said, Everyone, everyone has plans until they get hit for the first time. In other words, everyone has a plan until I punch them in the face. And what Tyson said is actually similar to an old saying that says, No plan survives the first contact with the enemy. A lot of people have a plan or idealized visions of how things are gonna go or how they should go. And then usually life happens or opposition happens, and it changes those plans a little bit. Why do I tell you this? Because last week we looked at the church in action. We looked at Peter and John healing, the Holy Spirit working through these men to heal a crippled man. And then next week we're gonna look at the church in prayer. There's a house-shaking prayer in Acts chapter 4 that we can learn a lot from. And this week we're gonna look at the church opposed. For the first time in history, the church gets punched. We're gonna see the church get punched for the very first time. Now, this is another long passage, so hang with me. I'm gonna read verses one through 22, and we're gonna go, we're gonna listen to Luke describe the first hit the church takes. You're reading there, I'm gonna start there in verse 1. It says this. And as that was as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed, because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Honest the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John and Alexander, and by all their by and all who were of the high priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means, and by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is a stone that was rejected by you, the the builders, which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they converted one another, saying, What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them, and evident it is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. So they called them and charged them to speak or teach at all, not speak at all about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, or you must judge. For we must we cannot we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. And when they had no and when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them. Because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old. Now, what the philosopher and theologian Iron Mike Tyson was getting at is people's true nature comes out when they first get hit. Okay, people's true nature is exposed then. Okay, in what we just read, okay, there's a lot of room for character study here. We can study the Sadducees, we can study Peter, we can study John. There's a lot of room for character study here. But if we zoom out, there is something more urgent here for us today. In the first punch the church takes, we can really see the nature of the gospel. We can actually see the true nature of the gospel the first time the church is attacked. One of the questions this passage answers is what is the nature of the gospel? Well, number one, the gospel is a bold message. Okay, the gospel is a bold message. Look again at verses one through four, and as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed, because they were teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. Now, what just happened? Okay, Peter and John heal a man crippled from birth who was already in his forties. And the Bible says the people standing around were filled with wonder and amazement. They were filled with wonder and amazement, rightfully so. Okay, in April of 2011, that was the first time I actually met one of my mentors. And that was also the last time I saw him on his feet standing up. I went off to college a couple months later, and he developed multiple sclerosis, and now he's wheelchair bound. And he's been wheelchair bound for about 10 years. If I saw him walk in this room, I would be filled with wonder and amazement. Okay, this is one of the reasons I believe the Bible is God's word because their reactions to the supernatural are very, very sober. They're not going, hey, anything is possible in the Bible world. No, these are sober reactions, they're filled with wonder and amazement. Now, and then what happens is their attention shifts. The attention shifts from the healed man and it shifts to the healers. And they start looking at Peter and John as if they're some sort of heroes. Now, instead of taking that as affirmation cream on the moment, instead of letting their capes fly in the wind, instead of taking an emotional selfie, Peter uses this opportunity to preach the gospel clearly and unfiltered. And this sermon is interrupted. It's interrupted by the religious establishment that is greatly annoyed. And what you have there in verses three and four are two very, very telling, very, very telling verses about the gospel. Verses three and four say this and they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day. For it was already evening. Watch verse four. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. This is a bold message. The gospel's a bold message, and I say that because it's polarizing. It is this bold message is polarizing. Okay. From one message came arrest and a revival. From one message came arrest and revival. One group of people is hearing Jesus taught, and it thought it was so repulsive and problematic, they're going through a mental menu of what should we do to them? What should we do to these two? They're going through their mental rollodex as to what how should we punish them? And they eventually land on arrest. That's one group. The other group is hearing this and finds it to be uh water, living water for their soul. Okay, up to 2,000 actually. Okay, if you remember earlier, about 3,000 souls were added to the kingdom of God. Right here, they said up to 5,000. So at least 2,000 people were added from the gospel preaching that day. So they found it to be life-changing and extremely consequential. It's polarizing. One message got them in jail while getting people out of the bondage of sin. Okay, it's polarizing. Now, why is that important for us? Friends, you and I are called to talk about Jesus. We're called to talk about Jesus. I know a lot of people say things, I mean when I was growing up, people say things like, hey, preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words. That's the same thing as saying, hey, um, feed the hungry. If necessary, use food.

unknown 13:09

Right?

SPEAKER_02 13:10

It doesn't actually, we have to we're called to preach the gospel as you grow in Christ, your compassion for people should be growing in such a way that you want them to call out to God. You should want your coworkers, you should want your neighbors, you should want your kids to call out to the Lord, but how can they call on the Him that who have not who they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard? So we're called to be faithful, obedient, honest, unashamed in the preaching of the gospel. But friends, whether you're talking to your children about Jesus or your co-workers about Jesus or your neighbors about Jesus, we get to do so, and we get to walk away, not wringing our hands because we didn't do well enough. We get to do so and then walk away, listening for the applause of heaven, knowing results may vary. This is polarizing. 1 Corinthians 1.18 says this the message of the cross is foolish for those who are headed toward destruction. But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. Friends, whether your gospel proclamation ends in baptism or outrage, you and I are called to the surrender, to surrender to the mystery that God knows God is God and we're not. Matthew 28, Jesus says this in the Great Commission, and Jesus said to them, 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 and the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always till the end of the age. Okay, did you hear who has authority right there? Okay, Jesus has authority. Okay, we were called to preach the gospel, surrendered, knowing God is the controller of hearts and minds. This is a polarizing message, so we should expect a polarizing response. I use the word bold because the Bible, I this message is bold, and I use the word bold because it's polarizing. Furthermore, I use the word bold because it's historical and it's objective. Okay, this bold message is historical and objective. Now, um, in sixth grade, okay, in the grimy hallways of Beck Junior High. Yeah, there you go. Go bulldogs. Um, towards the end of my sixth grade year, there were rumors, rumors of a food fight. Okay, I don't know who was gonna start it. I remember Kevin DeCarante tried to start it and he didn't, he failed. Okay, but there were rumors of a food fight, and principals were on high alert. So therefore, they instituted the rule in the cafeteria. Listen, no standing up after you've sat down. After you get your food, you sit down, you can't get back up. Except if you're if you're me, right? Okay, I got my food, I got my hot dog and three chocolate chip cookies. I remember sitting down and thinking, I forgot my blue Power raid. I forgot my Power Raid. And I stand up, and Mr. De Young on the microphone, Leo Almeida, come sit in lunch detention. Right? That wasn't the worst part. The worst part is as I turn over, I'm about to start walking there, the entire cafeteria goes, ooh. Okay, that burned a hole in my soul. So as I'm walking to prison, I mean lunch attention, I was changed. Okay, I was sitting there eating, I felt like a zoo animal. I was it felt horrible. And I remember I will never forget. I remember sitting there on table five, okay, because one table over, Lauren Kuvint sat there. I thought she was super cute. I remember sitting there thinking, I will never get in trouble again. Ever. This is I will never and it worked. I resolved and it really worked. Now getting in trouble changed my mind about what I did. But was that the same for the apostles? Look at verse 7 through 11. When they had set them in their midst, they inquired, by what power or what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we're being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, to all the people of Israel, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected. The builders which uh by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. Now, what happened there is they stay in jail overnight, much like me sitting in lunch detention. They stay in jail overnight, and then they walk in the next day to a Supreme Court-like setting. Okay, Peter and John get questioned about what healed them and what they what do they do? They start talking about the gospel by going way backwards, not to their feelings, but to a person and an event. What Peter is showing is this, friends, truth is outside of you and it's fixed. It's not inside of you and ever changing. Okay, it's outside of you and fixed, it's not inside of you and fluid. Okay, it's rooted in history, not feeling, and it's objective, not opinion. That seems like common sense, but it flies in the face of modern spirituality today. Because nowadays it's become very vogue to grab the soft spots of every religion and put it in a spiritual blender and drink and go, ah, this is my truth. Friends, all you're doing when you do that is you're just worshiping yourself. You're worshiping a taller, invisible version of you. There's a theologian, Thad Williams, who wrote an article on this a couple years ago, and he titled it self-worship, fastest growing religion. And he had the six commandments of self-worship. I have them here for you. It says this the first one is this your mind is a source of standard of truth of truth. So no matter what, trust yourself. Hashtag the answers are within. Your emotions are authoritative. So never question or let anyone question your feelings. Hashtag follow your heart. Let me just stop there. Says this the gospel that Peter's preaching flies in the face of both of these two. Okay, he reaches way back, not to his feelings, but all the way back to Psalm 118. Okay, by calling Jesus Christ the cornerstone, he's reaching all the way back to the book of Psalms 118, verse 22. And he's saying there, listen, God's word is truth, God's word is authoritative. And not only that, he's worshiping a Jesus who is obedient unto death, looking at God as the ultimate authority. So the gospel that Jesus is or that Peter is preaching flies in the faith of the face of both of these two. Furthermore, six commandments of self-worship, you are sovereign. So flex your omnipotence and bend the universe around your dreams and desires. Hashtag live your truth. You are supreme. So always act to your chief end to glorify, enjoy yourself forever. Hashtag YOLO. Again, Peter is preaching, Peter's preaching flies in the face of both of these mindsets. Okay, he establishes guilt by saying, listen, this is Jesus whom you've crucified. He's the cornerstone that you rejected. Friends, Christ dying on the cross convicts all of us, it indices all of us that we are all sinners, not sovereign and supreme, but sinful. You are the summum bunum, the standard of goodness. So don't let anyone oppress you with this antiquated notion that you have being a sinner who needs grace. Again, Peter is presenting this man's, this healed man's transformation as an example of what Jesus Christ can do on the inside. As a matter of fact, the gospel sets in motion what God can do in people's hearts. Lastly, you are the creator. So let that so use that limitless creative power to craft your identity and purpose. Hashtag authenticity. Again, Peter preaches of a God that has enough love for the world to send his son to die and has the power to bring him back to life. He has authority. He is the creator. Again, this is a bold message because it's rooted in history, not opinion, not feeling, and it's objectiveness. Opinion. This bold message is historical and objective. So it's polarizing, it's historical and objective, and it's also exclusive. Look at verse 12. Look at verse 12. And there is salvation and no one else. And there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved. Okay, that double negative, no one and no other name. It's emphasizing the uniqueness of Jesus. Okay? Peter didn't merely proclaim that Jesus was a way of salvation, but Jesus was the only way of salvation. Okay, he was the only way people could be saved. That's a bold claim. It has always been a bold claim, and it will continue to be a bold claim. But friends, think about it. Okay, think about it. So if you are laying in a hospital bed, dying of a rare painful disease that no one can figure out. What if you're sitting there in your last moments and a doctor bursts in and says, I could save you? I figured it out. I studied your blood samples all night and I got the cure for you. Okay, I it's very, very expensive, but I'll take the hit, I'll pay for it. I can actually save you. Okay, but this is there's one cure to save you. I've been studying this and I can actually save you. No one laying in that bed is gonna go. You only have one way. You only got one way to save me? That's so narrow-minded. Now that dog, he's not being narrow-minded. He he's saving you. He's saving you. Now we use the word saved so much that it's lost, it's it's it's it's it's it's it's hit. Okay, saved points to a person in trouble in a dire situation. Okay, the nature of salvation is desperation. Okay, that's why nobody texts the cops. No one texts the ambulance. No one in the history of mankind has ever been drowning and look at the lifeguard and said, Hey, when you get a moment, no, we scream at lifeguards, we call the police, we call the ambulance. We need salvation because the nature of salvation is desperation. And what's happened in human history is that Jesus has stepped in and said, Listen, our great physician says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This bold message is polarizing, it's historically an objective, and it's also exclusive. The gospel is a bold message. Furthermore, the gospel creates and requires bold messengers. It creates and requires bold messengers. Look at verse 13. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Now, um, one of the most prominent opposers of the gospel in the book of Acts, you're gonna find is this group called the Sadducees. They're not the same as the Pharisees, okay? The Pharisees were extremely, extremely conservative. The Sadducees were more liberal. Okay, these are people who are materially wealthy, politically powerful, and theologically very liberal. Those last two were problematic for this teaching. Okay, so they were um powerful politically because they were in cahoots with the Romans, Jews in cahoots with the Romans. And they were theologically liberal, meaning they didn't even believe in an afterlife. So whenever they hear Peter and John talk about a resurrected king, it's no wonder that the Bible says that they were greatly annoyed. Okay, but right now, after hearing them preach, the Bible says that they were astonished. Went from annoyed to astonished. Okay, why? Because what happened is not what should have happened in their minds. Right here, the power looks completely lopsided. All the power players on the author or on the other side, the rulers, the elders, the scribes, Honis, the high priest who was there when Jesus was crucified, Caiaphas was also there when Jesus was crucified. The power looks completely lopsided. And they were sitting in the semicircle. And what should have happened is Peter should have been too ashamed of his past and too terrified at their power to preach the gospel. And yet the gospel created in him trust instead of shame, boldness instead of fear. Friends, this is the same Peter who for years heard about Jesus Christ laying his life down and dying, laying his life down and dying, laying his life down and dying. And then when game time happens and he's about to get arrested, he cuts someone's ear off. That was actually Jesus' last miracle before the cross. He's putting guy's ear back on. This is the same Peter who says he would say who was going to defend Jesus from going to the cross in the first place. This is the same Peter, Peter, that last time he was in a situation like this, he completely betrayed Jesus. I heard one pastor say, He did for free what Judas did for with money. There should have been shame. In the eyes of the Sadducees, there should have been shame. But there is there is trust instead of shame. Luke 12, verses 11 and 12 say this. When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. He trusted that. If you're waiting to arrive before you can live on mission, you will never live on mission. In a group this size, I wonder how many of us are too scared to share the gospel because you feel too hypocritical of your past or your current struggle, or even too ashamed to get involved in church because of what you did in your past. Friends, let me encourage you this way. To trust in Jesus is to admit complete brokenness. Okay? 1 Corinthians 6 says this. Do you not know that the righteous, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor the idolaters, nor the adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor the thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor the revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And as such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Friends, to trust in Jesus is to admit complete brokenness. And to trust in Jesus is to confess that God has supernaturally saved you. Satan is crafty enough to remind you of the first one, to not let you proclaim that second one. There's a cheesy 90s horror movie that was called I Know What You Did Last Summer. And a group this size, I wonder how many of us, that's the lead vocal in your mind. I know what you did. I know what you did last summer. And again, Peter should have been too ashamed of his past, too terrified of their power to preach the gospel, but there is boldness instead of fear. Look again at verses 10 and 11. Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is a stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. What he's saying there is, listen, your opinion of Jesus was crucify him. God's opinion of Jesus was raise him from the dead. Okay, Peter and John are literally on trial and they're talking back to them as if God has put them on trial. That's boldness. That is big-time boldness. Now, the stage was set for them to ask, will I be crucified too? Is history about to repeat itself? Instead, they were bold messengers. And it's not because of their education or their family ties or their place in society, but because the Bible says they were filled with the Spirit. Verse 8 said they were filled with the Spirit. Every Christian gets the Holy Spirit upon conversion. He's with you permanently, he will never leave you. We're indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but there's a difference between being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit means that you are so yielded to the Holy Spirit that he can possess you fully. To be filled with the Spirit mean implies that there is freedom for the Holy Spirit to occupy every single part of our lives, guiding and controlling us. To be filled with the Spirit means you're saying I'm abandoning all outcomes. Okay, Spirit, do whatever you want in me and through me. And as, friends, as you read the book of Acts, whether you hear it and hear or at home, as you read it, you're gonna come to terms with the question hey, do people fill with the spirit still do miracles today? They still prophesy today? Do they still um speak in tongues today? That's been a question people have argued for for millennia. But one of the things that we can 100% see is that when someone is filled with the spirit, boldness takes place. This is the same Peter who was intimidated by a little slave girl just weeks before this. But now that he's filled with the Holy Spirit, he has the boldness to do God's work. Friends, how would your life change if you had supernatural boldness? What would you start doing? What would you stop doing? Friends, their minds were set on spirit in such a way, and they were walking in step with the spirit in such a way that it was recognizable that they had been with Jesus. The rulers acknowledged it. They wouldn't acknowledge it, but they couldn't deny it. There is incredible life change here, and nothing preaches like a changed life. The gospel creates and requires bold messengers. So the gospel is a bold message. The gospel creates and requires bold messages, and finally, the gospel should be overflowing out of us. Okay, I'll hit this point briefly. Look at verses 14 through 22. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants, inhabitants of Jerusalem. And we cannot deny it. But in order that it may not spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. So they called them and charged them to speak or tea, not to teach, not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you must judge. For we cannot speak of what we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people. For all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom the sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old. What just happened? The counsel and authorities are confused about what to do with these men, so they're discussing, and then decide to charge them not to speak at all about Jesus. And Peter and John tell them, hey, listen, if denying God to listen to your rules is okay, that's on you. But we have to speak of him. We have to speak of him. And friends, is that our posture? We have to speak of him. Now, this is the point in the sermon where I'm supposed to give you an easy-to-remember tool to preach the gospel, some sort of whether acronym or these list of verses to use. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I want to encourage you in this way. Listen, if you want to become a gospel proclaimer, if you want to be the type of person that preaches the gospel, develop a healthy obsession with the gospel. Develop a healthy love for what happened at the cross. Because as you explore the reality of Christ taking your place, as you explore the reality of what's currently happening in you, as you explore the reality that the epoch is coming, good luck keeping that to yourself. Okay, develop a healthy obsession with the gospel and it's gonna flow out of you. 2 Corinthians 4 13 says this I believed. I believed and so I spoke. It wasn't I memorized and so I got it. I regurgitated and I got it back out. No, it came down in my soul and it came right back up. I went to dinner at someone's house, um, and these people are in the room, so I gotta be careful. Um, and uh they'll know who they are real quick. Um, I'm great against peer pressure, horrible with heights. And I don't know how this happened, but the night went on and I ended up on a trampoline with their children. Now, um I'm again horrible with heights. I almost got peer pressured into doing a backflip. And as I'm jumping higher and higher, again, I'm a land animal, so I didn't have a tramp a trampoline growing up. I played basketball, not this. As I'm going higher and higher and higher, I had the thought, this is gonna be a sermon illustration one day. So here it is. So what I learned on a trampoline is this, okay. So if you barely step on a trampoline, your feet will just come back up. Okay, if you barely hop, you'll barely get air. But the deeper you sink down, the higher you'll go up. The deeper it goes down, the higher you'll go up. Friends, in that same way, rightly understood, the deeper the gospel sinks down into your system, the more it comes up. The more you can wrap your mind and your heart around what God did for you at Calvary, the more it's gonna come right back up. And friends, it must come up. It absolutely must come up. We're called to talk about Jesus at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry. He has this brilliant thing where he says, Hey, um, I'm calling you to become fishers of men. I do words for a living. That's genius. Okay, that's absolutely genius. Because whenever you catch fish, you kill them. But when you're a fisher of men, you're catching them to give them life. Catch them to give them abundant life and eternal life. Friends, we're called to preach the gospel. It should be overflowing out of us, and um, you're in a better position than I am. Okay? You're in a better position to do this than I am. I think you you see that I'm a pastor and you see eloquence. Hey, I can't do that. But I want to say listen, you are in a privileged position. I'm pretty good with small talk. I'm pretty good. So at an airport coffee, I'm pretty good with small talk. But I know that when small talk is happening, eventually we're gonna get to so what do you do? Now, there aren't many people that are gonna hear, I'm a pastor, and go, wow, preach to me. That's pretty rare. I know that when I say I'm a pastor, the dynamic of our conversation is going to change. It's going what typically happens, people hear you say, meet Leo say I'm a pastor, and they look at me and they start mentally rewinding to all the moments they've cussed in our relations in our conversation. Like, I've been cussing this whole time. He's a preacher. Oh Lord. You don't have that problem. Oh, I love this. Is a dream job, but you okay, you have your lunch breaks. You are you have you have your uh uh meetings in places where I'm pretty much shunned. Friends, leverage that. Okay, think about where God has put you and leverage that. It's not an accident where you are, your life stage is not an accident. Acts 17 says this he's determined the allotted periods and boundaries of our dwelling place. You are where you are on purpose, leverage that. Okay, bloom there where you're planted, leverage that, leverage that for the God who wants the cross to die for the penalty of our sins. And he rose again and ascended and gave us the power of power over our sins. And one day he's coming back to rid the world of the presence of sin. That is a bold message, and that's a bold message that creates and requires bold messengers, and that should overflow out of us. Let us be a people who proclaim the gospel. Let's pray. God, thank you for who you are. Thank you for what you've done. Um I pray that the gospel sinks deep into us, and we can celebrate it and enjoy it so much that we have to say it. Now we get we know we have to we get to say it, we get to proclaim. God, you are good, and we're so thankful that we get to enjoy you forever. It's in your beautiful name I pray. Amen. Now we like to preach and give you some space to think about what you've heard. There are some questions here that you can just venture off um into with the Holy Spirit. So I'm gonna step back and give you some time just to mental for mental worship. Dear God, we believe that you are working. We believe that the Holy Spirit is healing people up as we speak. We believe in your power to transform, just like you heal that man, you can heal us on the inside as well. Lord, we love you. Thank you for the cross. Just in your beautiful name, I pray. Amen. As always, church, it is so good to be with you. Um again, I'm Leo Almeida. I'm one of the teaching pastors here at Grant Parkway. If you're new here, welcome. And we love that you are here. Go ahead and text that number. Just text welcome to that number. That just gives us a record of your of your visit. Um, if this is your church home and this is your day to worship through through giving, um, there are boxes all over the room where you can do so. Um, but we like we like we like to um keep catch you up to what's happening in life for our church. We have a video here that shows us what's happening in life for our church. So pay attention to the screen.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

Here's a look at what's happening at Grant Parkway Baptist Church. If you're new, text welcome to 281-626-5707. This way we can know you're here and get you connected with the church.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Hey church family, my name is Annie Stevens, and I'm the new associate student pastor here at Grant Parkway Baptist Church. I'm so excited to be here and be part of the ministry that God is doing here at Grant Parkway. A couple things about me is I love a good cup of coffee. I'm not talking Dutch bros, I'm talking real coffee. Um, I love hanging out with my friends and getting to cook meals with them and for them. Um I also love making music, I play guitar and piano, I sing a little bit, and I play flute in middle school. Uh uh. But that's how I like to spend my free time. But other than that, I'm so excited to get to be part of the student ministry here at Grand Parkway and serve alongside in and serve students and families, and look forward to meeting you guys soon.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

If you'd like to meet Annie, come to her welcome party on May 24th. It'll be from 6 to 8 p.m. in the student building. This is for all students and their parents as we welcome Annie to our faith community. Dinner is on us, so plan to come and enjoy a night of introduction, information, and excitement. To register, please head over to Grandparkway.org. If you have questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

Bold messengers of this bold message. Enjoy God in such a way that your family, your friends, your co-workers, and your neighbors can look at you and say, They have been with Jesus. Enjoy him because we get to enjoy him forever. I declare these things in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.