Preach the Gospel to Every Creature — Westlake Bible Fellowship

0:00 Prayer and preparation

Let's pray. Father, we praise you for the truths of those songs we've been singing. Lord, may we be a people that are stayed upon Jehovah. Lord, would you please, the writer in Proverbs tells us that you direct even the king's heart wherever you wish. Would you turn our hearts that we would be a people stayed upon Jehovah?

Thank you that we get the blessing. Lord, there's perfect peace and rest. You get the glory, and you will accomplish your will as we seek, Lord, to fix our minds, our hearts upon Jehovah. Lord, would you speak to us this morning? Would you teach us this morning?

Would you equip us this morning to be your people, Lord, for these last days, to be an army, Lord, an army of harvesters gathering your harvest for your glory. Speak, Lord, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. We're going to talk from one little verse in the Bible, Mark chapter 16. If you open your Bibles to Mark 16. And we'll read verse 15.

I guess we'll add 16 to it also. And Jesus said to them, go into all the world and proclaim, that would be a better word for us to understand what the word means, go into all the world, proclaim, preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved, but he who has not believed, or my translation says, has disbelieved, shall be condemned. I'm not going to raise my voice or beat the pulpit or anything like that. We're just going to go through a simple some teaching about each believer's responsibility to share, to proclaim the gospel to every creature that we possibly can, to every person that we can.

And I hope to give a little bit of training, just some basic we don't have much time today. It would take more time, but just some thoughts for us to think about. I'm hoping to end then with us actually listening to someone reading the Bible, a dramatized version of a passage. We'll end with that. And hopefully, there'll be some time maybe even for a little bit of prayer after that.

Why should we preach the gospel to every creature? It seems that that's been kind of a message the Lord's been speaking to his church here for a long time, but recent days. Our trip to Mexico, all of us have been just kind of slapped in the face when we went there once again. And the reality of going out every day and for sometimes ten hours a day sharing the gospel, they would go out and they're still doing that. Apparently, while we were gone, I believe, then you also had a brother come, a black brother.

I remember hearing thoughts about his message was to share that gospel and the gospel, the power of the gospel. And why should we share the gospel with people? Well, it's really all about god's glory. Ephesians one repeats a number of times. It says, that he saves people all for the praise of his glory.

All for the praise of his glory. It repeats that phrase a couple times and once it even says all for the praise of the glory of his grace. God loved Adam and Eve perfectly before they sinned and even after they sinned. He loved them perfectly and yet his love wasn't completely displayed before sin came into the world and then god saved sinners and Romans five makes that clear. Romans five tells us that rarely would somebody die for a good man.

Per chance, someone would die for a righteous man but god demonstrates his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. People would ask, Well, why did God not stamp out Satan right away and put out the rebellion immediately? Or even in the Garden Of Eden, why did he not prevent Adam and Eve from being tempted and giving into sin? And he could have done those things. He gave man free will, and God had a plan.

God had a plan to allow sin. He didn't cause sin, but he allowed sin so that then he could come and send his son, not just himself, but his son, to die for sinners. And thus, all for the praise of the glory of his grace, completely giving, demonstrating the depths of God, who he is, his grace, giving your own loved child. And none of us have perfect children here. God has one, his son Jesus.

And God gave his only begotten son to demonstrate. One of the main reasons was to put his love on display, his grace on display, to explain. It's all for his glory. He didn't have to explain it, but this is who he is. And so, he allows sin to come into the world.

Did he love Adam and Eve fully before there was sin in the world? Yes. He gave them everything, provided a wife, beautiful place to live, and everything, just no curse, nothing, just a perfect world. And that was perfect love. But there's a facet of God, as you might say, His love is greater than that.

6:33 God demonstrates His love while we were sinners

It's all about the gospel. Why does, why should we share the gospel with people for God's glory? And it's really the whole purpose for everything is the gospel. He creates a world to... For his glory, ultimately for his glory.

But in that, and even the main purpose of his glory is the gospel. It's Jesus Christ. It's all about Jesus Christ giving his life for sinners. He creates a world so that he could live out, I don't want to use the word act out, but to live out the gospel of Christ coming to die for sinners. It's the whole purpose he sends his son.

Why should we share the gospel with people? Because that's why his son came. Christ died for sinners, right? Christ came into the world to save sinners. Luke says he came to seek and to save that which was lost.

It's the whole main reason that he saved you and me. Peter says that he takes a people who are not a people and he makes them a people. Why? A nation who's not a nation makes them a holy nation, a royal priesthood, so that they, what, might proclaim the excellencies of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. It's perhaps us sharing and proclaiming with our lives and the message of the gospel.

It's surely one of the main reasons we still are alive. We're gonna read that in two Corinthians five in a moment. It's our purpose, one of our main purposes for being here. And this is not just, We're not all to be Billy Grahams. We're not all to be Apostle Pauls, but every believer is commanded and given the beautiful ministry of sharing the message of reconciliation, that God wants to reconcile sinners with himself.

Second Peter says that, I don't understand it, but it says that we might hasten the day of the Lord's return. He's patient, not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. It says he's patient with us. If you read the context, he's clearly talking to Christians. He's patient with the Christians, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

And then that we might live this godly life speeding up, it says, hastening the day of his return. I don't understand how that really... I I'm strong believer in the sovereignty of God and that God already has a day when his son is going to return, but somehow, it does depend on those who hear the gospel. That's what it says. When that last person who hears the gospel is going to hear the gospel and receive Christ, He'll come in the rapture.

Then, he comes at his second return, second coming seven years later, when the last martyr, it says, is martyred. Those that are martyred during the tribulation, they're crying out, God, how long? How long? And God says, Well, when the last one is martyred. Those are some of the reasons.

Number two reason why we should share the gospel. I'd like us to open our Bibles to second Thessalonians chapter one verses eight and nine. Why should we share the gospel with people? It's for god's glory. It's It's God's purpose for him to save sinners through a message, through the foolishness of a message preached is what one Corinthians says.

That's how we get saved. We hear a message or we read a message of the cross. That's what it says in first Corinthians chapter one. Another reason why we should share the gospel, proclaim it with people is because without obeying the gospel, sinners perish in hell. Let's read two Thessalonians chapter one verses eight and nine.

In flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who obey not the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ, they shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord and the glory of his power. So, without a person hearing the gospel, they can't believe the gospel and receive the gospel. Without receiving and obeying the gospel, they perish in hell. I have three more reasons. I'm going to briefly mention them and then we'll come back to them, the reasons why.

Third reason would be eternity. Eternity is coming. And eternity is a lot longer than our life. And we're gonna read in second Corinthians that it's all about eternity and what's gonna matter in eternity. The fourth reason would be the crucifixion of Christ.

God's love for us, God's love for sinners. Christ's love for us, Christ's love for sinners. And the fourth reason would be the resurrection. And I'm hoping to keep those last two points for just... We're just gonna listen to the Bible being read of Christ's crucifixion and then his resurrection.

13:15 Practical thoughts on how to share the gospel

They've been a help to me. How do we share the gospel? Number one, there's three things. And one is like a prerequisite. It's read your Bible.

Why should we read our Bibles? Because we're gonna need faith. If I'm gonna go up and talk to a complete stranger or a friend or a family member about the gospel that we know some have been put to death for doing that, Christ being the first. Well, actually the prophets before, right? Even Isaiah proclaimed the gospel and he was sawn into two pieces.

Wow. Tradition tells us that they put him in a hollowed out log. He's a very elderly man at this time. What harm can an elderly man do? Very elderly man.

They put him in a hollowed out log, made a public execution of him, and cut the log in two pieces. They crucified our Lord. There's a war going on. There's a war going on for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. Satan comes to steal, kill, and to destroy.

He wants to be god. And god is allowing that for a time period, that battle to go on. We only see it from our short time now and we're in the battle. And so, God, how long? Why?

Why? When it's all over, we're going to see that God allowed it so that it could destroy the enemy's attempts, and in that whole process, save sinners who joined allegiance with Satan. That's what we did. We were born into it, and then we willingly followed and wanted it and rejected the way out, Jesus. But he dies for us and redeems us.

And in the end, the king of glory will be just that, the king of glory, and we will rule and reign with him forever and ever. So, read your Bibles. Why? Because we're gonna need faith. We're going to need a supernatural something to happen to us, to have the courage, to have the wisdom, to know how, to to have the desire, right?

And that's only going come from faith. And the Bible says in Romans ten seventeen, faith comes from hearing, hearing by the word of Christ or the word of God. So as you read your Bible, your faith is going to grow. And I might just add right here, a great place for you to read, just to be encouraged specifically about this, if you're a Christian, you're with me right now. You're wanting.

You know that, yeah, we do have to share the gospel with people, but I'm timid. I don't know how. I don't want to. I'm busy. I'm a sinner.

All these reasons why we don't. I would encourage you, read through the four Gospels and the book of Acts and just read and spend time and just get to know the Lord Jesus and and watch the lord Jesus and who he is and what happened to people when he met them, when they received him, and what they did afterwards and and the whole book of Acts, what happens to the first church? What was the first church doing? God wants us to get back to being that first century church. That's the revived church.

So, the first thing is spend time in God's word, specifically about, okay, Lord, I know I have the responsibility to share the gospel, I'm I feel inadequate. I'm not ready. I don't know how. I... Help me.

He will. He will. He will. Your faith will grow as you spend time in God's word. Number two thing would be pray.

And again, I'm hoping to leave a few minutes to pray together yet this morning. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter six. We're going to find perhaps the greatest evangelist in the whole world. No one exceeded him in his commitment, that's for sure, is Paul, right? And in one sense, God does not want us to all be like Paul.

But Paul said, through the inspiration of the spirit, he said what? Follow me or imitate me as I'm following Christ. Paul gave up his whole life to follow Jesus Christ. Guess what every believer is called to do? Give up their whole life to follow Jesus Christ.

Now, looks different in different lives. We're not all called to be an apostle. We're not all called to stand behind a pulpit. We're not all called, some are called just to be housewives and moms. But there's people in your lives, housewives and moms, who need to hear the gospel.

Or else they'll perish in flaming fire and the vengeance of God. So, Paul even asked for prayer about this. In chapter six, verse nineteen and twenty. Paul says, this is after the, this is about the spiritual armor, right? And the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet shod, the preparation of gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the word of God, and what?

And praying. Praying for all the saints at all time for all things. So, that's part of the armor is prayer. And then he adds this, and, verse 19, pray on my behalf. Pray for me.

The apostle Paul, the madman for Christ, who eventually does give up his life for Christ. Pray on my behalf. Why? So that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness or without fear the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador and change that in proclaiming it, I may speak boldly as I ought to. So, look at some of the things he wants us to pray for.

Courage. Pray for that for yourself. I put it in a couple of things easy to remember, two Bs. Pray for the burden. I don't even know if that's correct.

But somehow, Lord, I don't have the desire. I don't look at people, every person I see, that I should share the gospel with them. Give me the burden. I don't have it, Lord. And then the boldness, the two Bs, burden and boldness.

And if you're a believer with the Holy Spirit, you're going to want to do this. And it's not going to happen without doing that. If it does, you're going to lose it and you're going need to get it back and you're going to have to pray. Just ask God. You have not because you ask not.

Ask and you shall receive, Right? Praying for your kingdom to come, your will to be done, your name to be hallowed. And this is what it is. Praying for, he says, pray on my behalf that I might have the words to say. I don't know what to say.

For the open door, for the utterance to be given to my mouth so I can speak it boldly as I ought to. Go to Colossians chapter two. That's just two more books to the right. Philippians and Colossians chapter two verses I'm sorry, chapter four verses two and three. Chapter four, Colossians two and three.

End of the letter, Paul adds a couple practical applications. He says, Devote yourselves to prayer. Devotion to prayer. Devotion to prayer. Doesn't come easy, does it?

I remember when I was first say the first few years of my Christian life, man, I was a little fireball for Jesus. And I look back and I keep kicking myself in the head, why can't I get back to that? And one of the things that I can attribute that to is every morning, it was the most natural thing, I sleep on my back and I would just kind of roll over and plop right on my knees. And I'd have my Bible open on my bed. And then I go out and live my day.

And I come home at night and I do the same thing. And most of the time I found myself waking myself up so I can get back in bed. But that was wonderful. I'd spend time in the Word on my knees. Praying, praying, devoting ourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

Verse three, look at this, praying at the same time for us. Pray for me, Paul says, and all the workers that are, all of us, pray for us. I'm no superman. Paul says, I'm just a man like you. I'm just a man like you.

But what God can do with one man whose heart is completely his, praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word. Lord, give me divine appointment. I can guarantee you that if you sincerely ask the Lord every morning, God, give me one opportunity at least today to share your word, your gospel with somebody. He will answer that. And don't be afraid to pray that.

Because pray for the rest too. Lord, I don't know what to say. Give me the courage. Pray. Ask God.

He'll do it for us. He'll do it for us. It's what he wants us to be praying for. Open a door for the word so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ for which I've been imprisoned, in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Lord, again, me to say the right things.

Help me to

say the right things.

So, we're going to pray for burden, we're going to pray for boldness, or you could name that courage or fearlessness. We're going to pray for the words to speak. We're going to pray for open doors, opportunities. And the third thing, how to preach the gospel. First thing is spend time in the word.

Second, pray specifically about your duties as a believer, a follower of Christ. Lord, teach me to fish. That's what he said. Follow me, I'll make you become fishers of men. Teach me, Lord.

23:42 Proclaim the gospel and the word of God

So what do we proclaim to people? The gospel. Nobody gets saved without hearing, understanding, receiving the gospel. And then what is the gospel? Roger read that this first service in one Corinthians 15.

And we're not going to go look there right now, but it's the first four verses, I believe. One Corinthians 15, the first four verses. Paul says the gospel, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. That's very important fact of the gospel. As a matter of fact, that's all the New Testament writers preached, the Old Testament, according to the scriptures.

They showed how Jesus, how the Bible, God prophesied that God would send somebody to die for our sins, and now Christ is that one. He fulfilled it. How God would raise that one from the dead, and Christ fulfilled that. So, the Gospel is Christ died for our sins, and you could share time. Just lovingly ask the Lord.

He'll give you help. And if somebody doesn't want to listen, you don't have to force them. But just pray, and God will lead you to somebody. There are people out here, we've got families here who just lost loved ones tragically. Young people dying, over eight thousand people in Ohio have died already this year from heroin overdoses.

In Ohio alone, eight thousand.

Not everybody, of course,

but they're smiling on the outside. But they're watching the news, they know the world's falling apart, their life is falling apart. I'm telling you, people are ready to listen. He died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried.

That proved he really died. He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. It was prophesied. Another last important point, very important, he was seen by over 500 witnesses. That's the gospel.

People hear that, receive that. Colossians chapter one says, when they understood the grace of God in truth, when they heard the gospel and they realized, wow, I'm a sinner and Christ died for me and I can be set free and he rose from the dead, some will receive that. And the ones who do, they understand the grace of God and truth, and then the gospel flourishes. And God wants it to flourish in this location in Northeast Ohio. But us, the children of God, have to obey our Lord and Savior and share his gospel.

So, that is the gospel. What do we share? We share the gospel. Number two, we share the word of God. Share scripture.

Share scripture. You must share scripture. Isaiah 55 verses eight through 11 teach us that God's ways are higher than our ways and his word will not return void. His word, not even teaching about his word, but his literal words. Speak, share, and gospel tracts.

We have tracts. I got saved by reading a gospel tract. I got saved by reading the Bible in a gospel tract. And I passed out gospel tracts with just scripture on them. Give them the scriptures.

And tracks are a good way to lead with some of your Gospel of John. We have Gospels of John back there. You should always be carrying Gospels of John and tracts with you. Every Christian should be carrying Gospels of John and some tracts with you, in my opinion. Not everybody has to hear it written, but what a great opportunity.

And people receive them. People receive them story after story. I went to a gas station right after the Mexico trip. I'm looking for a gas station. I'm almost out of gas leaving Devin's house.

We just got home. Lord, I looked at my phone, cheap gas. Okay, this place over here, out by Ray Gonzales's house somewhere out there, and there, and I find a place, it's a little bit out of my way from coming back home, there's no gas pumps. They removed the gas pumps, but it says on GasBuddy that cheap gas. There's no gas there.

I was angry in my car. I got real angry with the circumstances or whatever. I was ticked off because I was tired. I want to get home and just unpack and catch my breath or something. There's no gas pumps there.

It was $2.16 at the time. This is a couple of weeks ago. Wow, that's free almost. Okay, Lord. Okay, Lord.

I know you brought me here to share with somebody. That's what I've been telling everybody and we learned in Mexico. Okay, that has nothing to do with gas. You brought me here to go talk. I'll go and talk to the cashier.

Not my gospels.

I'm going.

There's people waiting in line.

Now I gotta wait. As soon as I walk in, the guy, the last guy in line, Ryan, looked at me right in the eyes.

I gave him a gospel track. Where will you

spend eternity? Heaven or hell? It's a very serious question. But I always say, it just tells you how much Jesus loves you. He wants you in heaven so bad that he left heaven and died on the cross for you.

I just shared part of

the gospel with him. It was more than

that. Ended up talking to him for fifteen minutes, took my phone number, hadn't heard from him yet. He says, You have no clue what's going on in my life. I says, You're right, I don't. And I told him the story I just told you, there's no gas pumps.

What am I doing here? I'm here to talk to you about... Tell him the truth. If you don't have a testimony, you need to get saved. What's your testimony?

Well, I can't really remember. I, you know, I kind of feel I always was a Christian. I was raised in a family and I remember, that's okay. If you know that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior, Don, you got saved at four, five, four years old. That was not too long ago.

Four years old. The little boy gets saved because he's convicted that he disobeyed his mommy. He was a naughty boy. I've heard his testimony. Received Jesus as his lord and savior.

Share your testimony. How do I know that? Because the Bible tells us there's a woman at the well who met Christ. She leads a whole people to to brings him to Christ. A whole a whole town.

John chapter four, read it. Share your testimony. I don't know a whole lot, but you guys all know me. Men, right? That's what it says.

She was a harlot, basically. Five husbands first, now she's living with the guy. And all the guys go, woah, this guy. And they get saved. Mark five nineteen, a demoniac.

There was what, 3,000 or 2,000 pigs, I can't remember. 2,000? 2,000 pigs go over the cliff with demons in them. At least that many. A legion is even more than that.

Some say there was 10,000 demons in this one man running around naked, screaming in the graveyard, cutting himself, breaking the chains. This guy is a madman. But Jesus saved him, and he's sitting down, clothed in his right mind. You don't think that guy wanted to stay as close to Jesus as possible from that moment on? Yes, he did.

Jesus gets in the going to head on the way and guys running, lord, I want to follow you. I'll go wherever you want. Jesus said, what? No. Go home.

Tell your testimony. Go home to your family and your friends. Tell them the great things God has done for you and how He has had compassion on you. You pray for God to give you somebody every day to share your testimony with, and a little bit of the scripture is as much as share John three sixteen,

and you watch what God's gonna do.

You have not because you ask not. Somebody once said, you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. We need to be aimed at the gospel, sharing the gospel with people, right? Okay. Quick how to.

You're spend time in the word, get close to Jesus, and just grow in your faith. Number two, you're gonna pray specifically. Number three, you're gonna proclaim what? The gospel, the word of God, your testimony. Okay?

Simple. And God, who knows what God's gonna do? That's up to him what he does with it. We don't have to save people. We can't.

33:04 Eternity is coming

There's three other whys I wanted to share. This one, I guess you could title eternity. Second Corinthians five. Actually, we'll start in four sixteen. Chapter four sixteen.

Why should we share the gospel with people? Because eternity is coming and I'm gonna be there in a couple more blinks of an eye. Verse 16, Paul says, he just gets done talking about some of his suffering and stuff. He says, therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For these momentary light afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

Wow. Paul says, I am willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel. I'm willing... I gave up everything because eternity is coming. Eternity is coming.

And everything I see, I'm gonna leave behind. Everything I see is gonna be no more. Everything we see one day is gonna be no more. The sun and the moon, gone forever. It's gonna create new heavens and a new earth.

But the things that are seen, Verse 17, these momentary light afflictions are producing for us an eternal way to glory far beyond all comparison. I'm going to get rewarded. At the VBS, I took some camera photos and my camera's got a broken lens, so some of the photos didn't come out too good. I had a couple of brother Don sharing. He's got his little bandana and he's sitting there sharing the gospel outside in the parking lot with some children.

I sent him a photo and I put a little text in there. He says, one day,

you're gonna have a lot of people come up and give you a little tug in the

pant leg and say thank you for sharing the word of God with me, sharing Jesus with me. And don't know if Don had the privilege to lead anybody to the Lord during that VBS, but all part of that. And one day there's going be an eternal weight of glory being with the Lord and saying, Lord, I failed you so many times, but I brought one with me. I helped bring one with me. Maybe you didn't get to even see anybody say, but I helped.

I was part of what your plan on earth really was. Your kingdom come, we're taught to pray, right? Your will be

done on earth as it is in heaven. Your name be hallowed.

So there's going to be an eternal weight of glory. Verse 18, While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. We know that if the earthly tent, I'm just continuing, there's no chapter break. Paul's writing a letter.

For we know that if the earthly tent, that's our body now, which is our house, is torn down, we have a building from God. We're gonna get a new body. This one's falling apart. And in his case, it was literally being torn apart in all the beatings he was getting. And we're getting a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.

For indeed, in this house, we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. We're longing to be in heaven and finally be satisfied. In as much as we, having put it on our new body, shall not be found naked. We're not going to be without a body. For indeed, while we are in this tent, this body, we groan, being burdened because we do not want to be unclothed, but we want to be clothed, I love this, look at this phrase, in order that, why do we want our new bodies?

In order that what is mortal, temporary, may be swallowed up by life.

When we get our new bodies, we're finally gonna be really, fully, completely alive, swallowed up by eternal life.

Now, he who prepared us for this very purpose is god. That's what god, that's what he did. He made a world so that he could save sinners and make em completely brand new. His adopted children who they love him as much as Jesus love, has always loved him, and he loves them as much as he has always loved Jesus. A big family.

Family reunion is going to be awesome for all eternity. Now, he who had prepared us for this very purpose is god who gave us, who gave to us the or his spirit as a pledge, a down payment. We have the holy spirit. That's our guarantee that we're going to get our new bodies. We're going be in glory.

Eternity. Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord. Okay, we're here in the body, but we're not really with the Lord. He's with us, and by faith, yeah, but we're not face to face with him. For we walk by faith, not sight.

We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Paul's saying, I can't wait to get home to heaven.

Be with Jesus. We can't comprehend what it's going to be like.

But we're going to experience it. We're

going to experience it.

Therefore, also we have as our ambition, because we're going to

be at home with the Lord in new bodies.

Our ambition, our aim, whether at home, in this body, or absent, is to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the Bema Seat of Christ. It's a better translation than judgment. The Bema Seat, we're going to get rewarded, recompensed, either reward or ashes. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done as a Christian, whether good or bad.

This is the time when Christians won't get punished for sins, nor all the time we wasted, which there's been much for myself, and I'm sure all of us would say the same. But we're going to be rewarded. And the bad, we're going to find out, is turns to ashes. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. Notice that.

Paul's thinking, because he's writing. I mean, God is speaking to him just like as I'm the mouthpiece right now. God's speaking to my heart too, because it's his word. Even though Paul was the pen and he was maybe audibly dictating it to the writer here, God was speaking to Paul too. And he says, as I think about these things, therefore, the terror, the fear of the Lord, I'm out here persuading men.

I'm sharing the gospel because eternity's coming. Eternity's coming. And then he goes on for the next two verses, a personal note there about the Corinthians, well, let's read it, I guess. But we are made manifest to God, and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

For if we are beside ourselves, it's for God. If we're crazy men for Jesus, it's for God's sake. If we are of sound mind, it's for you. For the love of Christ constrains us, controls us. His love for me is the primary meaning there, but it's also our love, my love for Christ, but it's really his love for me constrains me, controls me.

Having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. And he died for this purpose, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore, from now on, we recognize no man according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. We understood Christ is only a man and flesh to flesh. But now that we're saved, we see things so differently.

Christ is God who became a man, and we are gonna be with him in eternity. We see people differently now. Even Christ we see differently, he says. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old things passed away.

Behold, all things have become new. The way I perceive people is completely changed. The way I view eternity is completely changed. The way I see Christ is completely changed. Now, all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against him. And he is committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were entreating through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. God made or caused Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

God is reconciling a world of lost sinners to himself through Christ, and now he's given us that ministry. He's given us the message of reconciliation. It's Christ crucified. It's the last verse. Christ became sin for us because so that we could become the righteousness of God in him.

42:55 Mark 15 and 16 reading

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, Mark 16. And then we'll just close in prayer after that. If you

could play that and make

sure it's nice and loud so everybody can hear it. It was number four and five. Turn it up a little bit.

The chief priest held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus, led him away, and delivered him to Pilate. Then Pilate asked him, are you the chain of the Jews? Yes, as he say. And the chief priest accused him of many things, but he answered nothing.

Do you answer nothing? See how many things they testify against you?

But Jesus still answered nothing, so did Pilate murmured. Now at the feast, he was accustomed to releasing one prison to them, whom none of he requested. So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and he delivered Jesus after they had scorched him to be crucified. Then the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorian, and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed him with purple, and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on his head,

and began to salute him. King of the Jew. King of the Jew.

Then they struck him on the head with a ring and stabbed. And bowing the knee, they worshiped him. And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, put his own clothes on him, and let him out

it.

And when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the inscription of his accusation was written above, the king of the Jews. With him, they also crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left. So the scripture was fulfilled which says, and he was numbered with the transgressors.

And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, You who destroy the temple and build it in three days. Save yourself and come down from the cross. Likewise,

the chief priests also, marking among themselves with

the scribes. He saved others himself and do We

we sixth thing hour had come, there was

darkness that. Over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying,

Which is translated, my god. My god. Why have you forsaken me?

Some of those who stood by when they heard that said, look, he's calling for Elijah. And then someone ran and filled the sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. Let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to take him down. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice.

There were also women looking on from afar, among whom was Mary Magdalene. Mary, the mother of James the Lesson of Josays, and Saloni, who also followed him, administered to him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. Now when evening had come, because it was the preparation day, that is the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that he was already dead. And summoning the centurion, he asked him if he'd been dead for some time.

So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took him down, and wrapped him in the linen. And he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Josseys, observed where he was laid. Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him.

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen, and they said among themselves.

Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen.

He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he sent to you. So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb for they trembled and were amazed.

And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later, he appeared to the 11 as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name, they will cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues.

They will take up servants. And if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on sick, and they will recover.

So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

54:03 Closing prayer and application

Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Father, I know we've all been touched again by your word and your spirit this morning. Would you please? Lord, we we haven't been faithful fishers of men. We want to be.

Would you make us become? Lord, would you finish this message in everyone's heart? Draw us closer to see you and all your glory and majesty. And father, we do

pray that you would give us a burden for lost souls. Lord, we confess we don't have it. We've been selfish and worldly and sidetracked, distracted. Lord, we pray that you would just give us a passion. Fill us with your spirit.

Help us to spend time in your word every day, lord. Help us to pray, lord, to be a fisher of men. Lord, we pray for boldness, courage. We pray for open doors. We pray you give every true believer an opportunity even today to share the gospel the best that we can with somebody, to share a testimony with somebody today.

Lord, you have to change our hearts. We praise you. We thank you for Jesus Christ our lord. Thank you lord Jesus. We we we were we were in that story just now.

We saw you dying there for us but not just for us, but for the world. We love you, Lord. We praise you. All glory and praise be to Jesus Christ. In his name we pray.

Amen.

Preach the Gospel to Every Creature — Mark 15-16

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Preach the Gospel to Every Creature — Mark 15-16

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