Scripture referenced 5 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Philippians 1:14 cited to show that Paul's chains made brothers confident to proclaim the gospel without fear
14 and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
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Keep this verse
2 Corinthians 5:17
quoted to show that anyone in Christ is a new creature and old things pass away
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
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Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus quoted on the narrow gate and broad road leading to destruction versus the narrow road leading to life
13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
14 How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.
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John 14:6
Jesus quoted as the only way to the Father
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
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John 6:44
Jesus quoted that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Gary Geek brought the message on November 5, 2017, with Pastor Ray and Pastor Carl both away. He called it "The Fabric of Our Faith," and it centered on the call every Christian has to share the full gospel, without watering it down and without fear.
What was said
Gary opened by naming the excuses Christians reach for when they avoid sharing their faith: it's not my calling, I might push people away, I live the gospel rather than tell it, I don't know any unbelievers. He cited a survey from the American Culture and Faith Institute of over a thousand Christians, in which only one in four believed it was their responsibility to share their faith with people who believed differently, and the number dropped even lower when the measure was whether they had shared a biblical gospel message.
He described the cultural pressure working against honest gospel witness. The world has embraced tolerance as a governing virtue, and that movement runs through schools, universities, workplaces, and government. The effect on the church, Gary argued, is that the truth side of the gospel gets pushed aside in favor of grace alone, leaving people with the impression that God will welcome them as good people without any confrontation of sin.
The cross, Gary said, is the center of the gospel and it is offensive precisely because it confronts. It does not suggest a new way of living, it demands one. He described the physical suffering of the crucifixion, the scourging, the carrying of the cross, the nails, and then said that the real suffering was the moment Jesus cried out, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" That moment of separation between the Father and the Son was where the weight of sin was carried.
Gary warned against presentations of the gospel that emphasize only its benefits, the kind that promise solved problems, better self-esteem, or even wealth. He said that kind of message obscures the real cost paid on the cross. The true gospel, he said, calls for repentance, a turning from sin, and making Christ Lord, not simply adding Jesus to an unchanged life.
He pointed to Matthew 7:13-14, where Jesus described the narrow gate and the broad road, to show that Jesus himself never softened this reality. The way to the Father is through Jesus Christ alone, Gary said, because He is the only one born into this world without sin, and when a person comes to Him they are clothed in His righteousness.
Gary closed by calling the room to consider whether they had heard the gospel clearly, and he led a prayer of repentance and faith. His hope, he said, was that the message would encourage the congregation to share the full counsel of the gospel boldly, with the people in their workplaces, families, and neighborhoods.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Gary mentioned a survey where only one in four Christians believed it was their responsibility to share their faith. Why do you think that number is so low, and do you recognize any of the excuses he listed in yourself?
- Gary described the gospel as a balance between truth and grace, and said the world is pressuring the church toward the grace side alone. Where have you seen that pressure, and how do you think we should respond to it?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 3,823 words
0:01
Good morning, church. As always, it's a blessing to be here. Will you please stand up and let's worship God this morning? And my plan is to have a great time in the name of Jesus. Amen?
0:10
Amen. Amen. We gather in his name to praise him and to fill the Holy Spirit in this building. Let's make this hour the most beautiful hour of this awesome Sunday. Amen?
0:21
Amen. Let's worship God. What a beautiful song, isn't it? Hear my heart, here's my heart, oh take and seal it seal it for thy courts above. Oh, hallelujah.
2:26
Praise God. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.
5:39
Amen.
5:42
Alright. Well, you guys can be seated. Thank you guys for all being here today. If it is your first time here, we wanna welcome you. There is a card in the seat back in front of you.
5:52
And if you wanna just write your name on that and any information, we can get in touch with you and see how we can serve you as a church body. That would be great. You can just drop it in the offering plate when it comes by, and that would be your gift to us. Couple of announcements for the day. We got youth group coming up this week.
6:08
On Tuesday, we have middle school from 06:30 to 8PM. We'll be having a lot of fun just teaching kids the word and playing games. We'll be doing the same thing for high school kids on, Thursday from seven to 08:30. We've got that going on this week. We've also got the nursery downstairs.
6:24
If anyone has a baby that they wanna put in the nursery, that is available, during this service. Tomorrow night, we've got Monday nights at First Bee, which is meal, music, and message. Be right down the hall in the fellowship hall, That's paired up with Awana, which is a children's program, and, that will all be going on here tomorrow night starting at 6PM. So come out for a meal music and message and drop the kiddos off in here. We've got Habitat for Humanity.
6:51
I'm gonna head up a project. Me, Carl, and Ray are gonna head up a team and go, later on this month and go help build the Grove, which is down, kind of back behind the library there and build some housing for residents here in town. So we're gonna volunteer that day. If anyone's interested in that, just get in touch with me, and I can get you more information. Operation Christmas Child, we're gonna be doing that this week.
7:16
Wednesday, the eighth, we have, we're gonna have a packing party. So if you wanna go and buy some things to put in the boxes, we can do that. There's also boxes in the foyer. If you wanna take a box with you, you can fill it up and then bring it back on the eighth, and we'll have those all filled out, and we can send them off. There's also a way that you can register online and then get to track and see where that package went and see where it ended up.
7:39
So see Casey McCooey for details. Her contact info is inside this little bulletin right here, and all the rest of the details are inside this bulletin. So make sure you you look at that. And if you guys wanna stand up and greet one another, we'll bring you back together with some more of this wonderful singing.
9:36
Beg your pardon?
9:37
This one will second to another key. In another key.
9:41
Yes. Right. Okay. Picking up the chorus in another key.
9:46
Oh, so we're gonna sing one in the chorus, two in the chorus, then four in another key. And then chorus
9:57
in another. Okay. Perfect.
13:08
It's it's beautiful to see the church alive, praising God with a good spirit. That's a blessing, honestly. You guys are a blessing to me, and and I'm praying that God through the Holy Spirit would reach to our hearts and do something there that it's it cannot be explained in words only by the Holy Spirit. That's the beauty of the, of the, of the songs. I wanna share with you something.
13:30
I was very impressed this week by, our pastors. As you probably know, some of you know, some don't. They drove all the way to Florida, a huge truck, and then pulled another car behind that truck helping Melissa Reese. Right? All the way to Florida.
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Isn't that awesome? We honestly, I think we have yes. Yes. I think I think we have an amazing first meeting here. Pastor Ray, pastor Carl, Mike Dimitris.
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He's always on fire, ready to do something to serve God in the community, and I'm thankful for that. So praise God, and, I'm thankful for our pastors. Let's worship with, this wonderful song that says, it is so sweet to trust in Jesus just to take him at his word, just to rest upon his promise, just to know, thus said the Lord. Amen. Amen.
16:30
Thank you. Amen. Thank you, miss Jennifer.
16:35
So we'll go ahead and invite the frontline team up here. And this is the time in the service where we will take up our offering. So I'll go ahead and pray and just ask God's blessing on this offering. Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for the opportunity to come and worship you in spirit and in truth.
16:54
God, I pray that you'll just be here with us. God, would you take these tithes and these offerings? God, we offer them up. We say, God, you give us so much. Here's some back from what you've given us.
17:04
We know that you give us more than we'll need, and we give this back. God, would you take these gifts, these tithes, these offerings, God, and bless your kingdom? Would you use it for the advancement of your gospel, the meeting of needs of your people, God, and let your love just spread. God, thank you for this, and, we lift this up to you in Jesus' name. Amen.
19:43
Marine. So today, we're gonna get to hear a powerful message. Since Ray and Carl are both gone, Gary Geek is actually gonna share with us today, and he's gonna share I heard it just a little bit ago, a powerful message, and it is the fabric of our faith. So, Gary, if you will come up. And let's, let's invite Gary up with a little round of applause, please.
20:08
Just welcome him from.
20:16
That sound good? All right. I shared this little, joke, earlier, and I didn't know how well it went, and Diane thought I should share it again. So I'm excited to share this message, especially, I heard three little kids talking last Sunday, and they're bragging on their dads. And, one of them said, my dad wrote a few words on a piece of paper, called it a poem and got $50 The other little kid said, my dad wrote a few words on a piece of paper, called it a song and got a $100.
21:10
The third one said, my dad wrote a few little words on a piece of paper, called it a sermon, and it took four people to collect all his money. So I'm looking forward to sharing my message.
21:29
That's all.
21:32
Last week, Ray talked about the advancement of the gospel and that some was preaching out of envy and rivalry, but others were preaching out of goodwill. Paul, of course, wrote the letter in prison. He encouraged the Philippians to preach the gospel out of love. But I think for some of us sharing the gospel, it's not as easy. And, I kinda see it as like someone trying to push a ball up a hill.
22:08
It's just kinda awkward. So I got a little video. You wanna share that?
22:29
Origin. Robert.
22:43
Hey.
22:53
Hi, Jim.
22:58
Pretty good.
23:03
Sharing your faith doesn't have to be hard. Let's do it together.
23:17
I read an article that made this statement. Must every Christian preach the gospel? What if that answer was no? If that answer was no, then it would justify these excuses that we use not to share the gospel. It's not my calling.
23:45
I don't know how to how to tell the gospel. I'm not good at that stuff like that. I might not I might push people away. I might lose my friends. I might lose my job.
24:02
I may be hated for it. I live the gospel rather than to tell the gospel. I don't know any unbelievers. I may not be able to answer people's questions and comments. The list could go on and on and on.
24:25
But we know that answer is no or is not no. We know we're called to share our faith. Always be prepared to share the hope that we have in Christ. We also see that from Ray's last week's sermon in Philippians one fourteen. It says, and because of my chains, most brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
25:13
Paul praised them because they were confident in the Lord and they were able to pray or able to spread the gospel without fear. I I read a a survey by the American culture or culture and faith institute surveyed over a thousand Christians. It's not a denominational. It was a broad big c church survey. 18 or older, only one out of four believe that that was their responsibility to share their faith with people who believe differently.
25:59
And that percentage goes even lower. That presented a gospel message that was biblical. The heart is sharing the gospel. I remember a story about a poor Chinese farmer who had, cataracts removed from his eyes from a Christian mission clinic. A few days later, the missionary doctor looked out the window and noticed the farmer holding the end of a long rope.
26:38
In single file, holding onto the rope were 24 blind Chinese who had been rounded up and led for miles to the doctor who had worked a miracle on this farmer's eyes. That's how we who have received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ should be. We are so blessed that we have that we want everyone to know so they can receive that same gift.
27:09
Our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening. Well, there have been times that I've wept as I've gone from city to city, and I've seen how far people have wandered from God. Of all the things that I've seen and heard, there's only one message that can change people's lives and hearts.
27:33
There is a way if you come by the way of the cross. The cross. The cross.
27:39
I want to tell people about the meaning of the cross, not the cross that hangs on the wall or around someone's neck.
27:49
We receive our freedom purchased by the ransom at the cross.
27:54
But the real cross of Christ.
27:57
The cross expresses the great love of God for man.
28:01
It's scarred and bloodstained. His was a rugged cross.
28:05
His real purpose for coming was to die.
28:08
I know that many will react to this message, but it is the truth. And with all my heart, I want to leave you with the truth.
28:20
The gospel is a gospel of truth, but fear is a huge deterrent that keeps us silent. We live in a world that has embraced tolerance as a virtue. This great movement of tolerance is racing through the schools, universities, workplaces, government, and most every part of society. But it has just one verse and one command. I'm gonna try to quote it as best I can.
29:01
Judge not me nor anything I say, believe, do, or want, least ye shall be judged intolerant. The new intolerant movement is anything but tolerant when it comes to the universal truths, especially the universal truths of the gospel. I believe if I was to scale faith and grace or, truth and grace would be equally balanced in the gospel message. But this world hates the truth side of the gospel, and it's screaming, change your narrative, change your story, and it is pushing the church to the grace side. I wanna share a story.
30:17
I was sharing my faith with this person, and this has happened many times to me. Through our conversation, this person would say, I believe God is love. I believe Jesus is merciful. And I believe when I die, that he's gonna look on me as a good person and welcome me into his kingdom? What side of the gospel have they been hearing?
31:06
When we boldly go out and share the gospel, we share the whole council of the gospel.
31:26
The cross is offensive because it confronts people even so. It's a confrontation that all of us must face. I look out across an audience when I stand up to preach, And I think of all the people with their different backgrounds and their various needs. And I know that they are objects of God's mighty love to the point that he gave his son, his only son, to die upon a cross. And the cross was the most terrible form of execution by the Romans for criminals.
32:22
And Jesus endured all that in our place because of our sins. We deserve the cross. We deserve hell. We deserve judgment and all that that means. I know that there are many people that dispute that.
32:44
People don't want to hear that they're sinners. To many people, it's an offense. The cross is offensive because it directly confronts the evils which dominate so much of this world. One reason that the cross is a defense to people is because it demands doesn't suggest it demands a new lifestyle in all of us. Sin is a disease in the human heart.
33:23
It affects the mind and the will and the emotions. Every part of our being is affected by this disease. How can we break this bondage? How can we be set free? God helps us break those chains.
33:45
The Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things pass away. Everything becomes new. It can make you a totally new person. The
34:03
gospel comes at a great cost. In our zeal making salvation painless, we water down the great cost paid for us on the cross that redeemed us from God's eternal wrath. We can also present the gospel with the emphasis on the benefits of a of Christianity without the cost involved. This gospel may sound something like this. If you trust Jesus, he will solve your problems.
34:43
You'll be a better person. He will help you with your self esteem on and on and on. And I've heard even heard it go as far as that Jesus wants to make you wealthy and rich. The true gospel emphasizes repentance, a term from sin, lordship, making Christ lord of my life.
35:19
God was laying on Jesus our sins. They not only put nails in his hands, but before that, they'd scourged him. A Roman scourge was a terrible thing. They took whips and pellets on those whips and beat a person almost to death. And then they took that cross and made him carry the cross, which was in his weakened condition was almost impossible.
36:02
But he carried that cross to a place outside of Jerusalem, and then they put nails in his hands. But that was not the real suffering. The real suffering is when he said, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In that terrible moment, he and God, the father, were separated.
36:37
The gospel is narrow. Matthew seven thirteen fourteen. Jesus said, enter through the narrow gate for wide as a gate, broad as a road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small as the gate, narrows the road that least leads to life, and only a few will find it. Jesus never sugarcoated truth.
37:11
And the truth is that not many people will be willing to pay the price to follow him.
37:26
Way of salvation except through the cross of Christ. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the father but by me. The only way to the father, father God, is through his son, Jesus Christ. Now why Jesus?
37:48
He's the only one that was born into this world without sin. But more than that, he was a righteous one. And when you come to him, you're clothed in his righteousness. God no longer sees your sin. He no longer sees your own heart.
38:10
He sees Jesus.
38:18
The gospel leads to a decision. In John six forty four, Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the father who sends him draws. Only the father through the work of his Holy Spirit can lead you to the intersection of these two roads. Trying to picture this here. Imagine in your in your mind this intersection and this huge broad road.
39:00
But off that broad road this is narrow. The gospel leads us to a decision.
39:17
When you come to Christ, you come by the way of repentance. Repent means to change, to change your way of living and turn from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ and say, I'm a sinner. I need forgiveness. And I know that you're the only one that can change me. Today, I'm asking you to put your trust in Christ.
39:51
I'm going to ask you to pray this prayer sentence by sentence after me. Dear heavenly father, I know that I'm a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you've died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins. I repent of my sins.
40:22
I invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow you as my lord and savior. In Jesus' name, amen.
40:42
He's alive. I've given my life not to a dead Christ, but to a living Christ. And he's given me a song to sing. He's given me a flag to follow. I have reason for existence.
40:55
I know where I 've come from. I know why I'm here. I know where I'm going. Do you?
41:10
My hope in sharing this message is that it encourages us. One, that we need to share the full counsel of the gospel. You need to share it without fear. I don't know if there was any in here that may have heard the gospel for the first time in a way that God's spirit drove it home. That was the case.
41:56
Hallelujah. And again, I pray that be bold in our faith. Bring people to Jesus. Thank you.
42:25
I felt led by this Holy Spirit because of this wonderful sermon to sing a song that I I played it at the 09:00 worship service, and I think you're gonna like the lyrics. I would ask Blake if you can, would you please put on the screen how deep the father's love for us if you have it? Because I wanna make sure you understand the lyrics. Sometimes when I sing with accent, I know it's and I wanna make sure you understand. The song, it's so good.
42:52
So good. Not my voice, the lyrics. And after that, we're going to sing the congregation song.
43:11
How deep the father's love for us how vast beyond all measure that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure great the pain of searing loss the father turned his face away behold the man upon the cross my seat upon his shoulders I will not boast in anything no gifts, no power, no wisdom but I will boast in Jesus Christ he's that and resurrection why should I gain from his reward I cannot give an answer, but this I know with all my heart. His wounds have made my answer. Why should I gain from his reward I can't even answer but this I know with all my heart His wounds have made my answer.
46:05
Amen. Amen. Would you please stand up? I wanna invite mister Bob so he can see sing the last song. There is a name I love to hear.
46:18
I love to sing its work. It sounds like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. And I know that you love Jesus.
46:30
I can feel it when you speak to
46:31
me. So
46:34
church, it's always good to be here in God's house. Amen? Amen. It's it's good that we gather together to praise his name, but also we get to encourage one another to go forward with him. Amen?
46:46
Amen.
48:55
Oh,
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how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus because he because I fear. Oh, how
49:31
Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now I also feel I did that in the 09:00 service, and, I think it's a good thing for us. So I know that this is the human flesh.
49:44
That's what we do. We hear something, we shake our hands, we leave, and we go on on our life. Based on that beautiful sermon that we just heard, let's take a minute
49:53
in prayer.
49:54
Can we take a minute in silence when we can just have a good conversation in the Holy Spirit without saying? Heavenly father, thank you. Thank you for the salvation that you provided for us, through Jesus Christ, your son. How much how much you love us right now is very humble. We're asking that you would bless this church.
50:41
We're asking that you would bless our life. Get deep to the word. Would you help us to be good servants where we can share the gospel at work, family, with our neighbors? Please help us in the holy in the name of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And if we can get that power from you, because I know with the Holy Spirit, you gave it to us.
51:05
It it isn't he's in us. Let us activate the power that is that is in us that we can be bold and speak about the truth that we we know about the salvation. We also know that if we don't speak, the people would not hear the good news. Thank you for brother Gary if he just gave us a good sermon. Please bless pastor Carl, pastor Ray, and their way to Florida and to see their family.
51:32
Bless us the rest of the day. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Have a beautiful Sunday. God bless you.
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