full

Foundations: Galatians 1

Trying to share your faith can f overwhelming. Pastor Ronnie points out what many secretly feel: confusion around what really matters and whether we measure up to share Jesus with anyone.

Instead of spinning up another list of “spiritual qualifications,” Pastor Ronnie returns to the raw, liberating simplicity at the heart of Christianity: Jesus, crucified and risen, is enough. It’s not about adding religious hoops or chasing influence, but about letting God’s love transform your story from the inside out. Even if questions come your way, the good news endures—God loves you, sent His Son for you, and calls you to share that same grace.

Bible References

Samual 16:7; Isaiah 55:8; Luke 2:10-12; John 3:16, 18:36; Acts 15:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Galatians 1:1-12, 2:6; Revelation 3:14-22

Key Insights

  • Feeling unprepared to share your faith is common, but the core message is simple and accessible.
  • The gospel doesn’t need extras; faith in Christ alone brings transformation.
  • Loving people well reveals the reality of Jesus more than religious arguments or politics.

https://springhousemidweek.captivate.fm/episode/foundations-galatians-1

Subscribe & Follow the Podcast

Download our app

Our Website

Online Tithes & Offerings

Join our Livestream

Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Wednesdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
Speaker:

Well, I can probably think

Speaker:

of some better people to start this off,

Speaker:

but, but I'll take that. Thank you, Pastor Jonathan.

Speaker:

I was brought up in a, in a house Where

Speaker:

if you weren't 15 minutes early, you were late.

Speaker:

And I, I promise you, most

Speaker:

of you don't know that I just walked in like 4

Speaker:

minutes ago.

Speaker:

The people running the microphone and all

Speaker:

this stuff, they know about it. And Jonathan kind of knew, but I'm

Speaker:

sure he was prepared. Should I not get here?

Speaker:

We live about 15 minutes from here and we left 40

Speaker:

minutes ago. I won't go through the story, but

Speaker:

anyway. And if you're

Speaker:

wondering why I'm wearing a Bob Dylan t-shirt,

Speaker:

it's because it is for Wayne Berry.

Speaker:

That is why I wanted to wear that. This was

Speaker:

the first album Dylan did after he got after he got saved. It's got

Speaker:

some good, good stuff on it, including a song called

Speaker:

God— Man Gave Names to All the

Speaker:

Animals. And I think my favorite version I ever heard of it

Speaker:

was by Ryan Montgomery, who— how old were you when you, when you

Speaker:

sang that? Maybe 8.

Speaker:

What? Maybe 8? Oh man, you missed your

Speaker:

calling.

Speaker:

Somebody needs to talk to him about doing it again at some

Speaker:

point in time. Somebody just has. Yeah.

Speaker:

Do you feel qualified, prepared

Speaker:

to share the Gospel with people?

Speaker:

It's kind of a rhetorical question, but it's also a real question

Speaker:

because I know it's easy to

Speaker:

They get intimidated sometimes with the thought of

Speaker:

sharing the gospel. And it's probably not

Speaker:

really a fair yes or no question.

Speaker:

It's really more of a continuum on a scale of 1 to 10.

Speaker:

You know, how qualified and prepared do you feel to

Speaker:

share the gospel? My hope is

Speaker:

that tonight before we leave,

Speaker:

Everyone's going to be at 10. So let's

Speaker:

see if we can get there. Galatians. I'm going to—

Speaker:

I'm going to read— I didn't put it up here, so you'll

Speaker:

have to actually use a Bible.

Speaker:

All right. Galatians chapter 1.

Speaker:

And you can follow along

Speaker:

with me. I'm going to read the first 12

Speaker:

verses, and then the last 12 verses I'll just

Speaker:

summarize. Okay? Here we go. I'm reading out of the

Speaker:

New International Version. Paul, an apostle

Speaker:

sent not from men nor by a man, but by

Speaker:

Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the

Speaker:

dead, and all the brothers and sisters with me,

Speaker:

to the churches in Galatia, Grace and peace to you

Speaker:

from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave

Speaker:

himself for our sins to rescue us from the present

Speaker:

evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Speaker:

to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Speaker:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting

Speaker:

the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ,

Speaker:

and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.

Speaker:

Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying

Speaker:

to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we

Speaker:

or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than

Speaker:

the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse.

Speaker:

As we have already said, so now I say again, if anybody is preaching to

Speaker:

you a gospel other than what You accepted,

Speaker:

let them be under God's curse. Am I now

Speaker:

trying to win the approval of human beings or of God?

Speaker:

Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people,

Speaker:

I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know,

Speaker:

brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of

Speaker:

human origin. I did not receive it from any man,

Speaker:

Nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by

Speaker:

revelation from Jesus Christ. And then he goes on to

Speaker:

talk about how he used to persecute the church, and he

Speaker:

even put them in prison and stuff. But, but God

Speaker:

reached out and got him. I think most of you are familiar with

Speaker:

the story of Paul on the road to Damascus and, and Jesus

Speaker:

appearing to him. And it was

Speaker:

really— it's also kind of interesting, you know, when Jesus appeared to

Speaker:

him, you know what he said? He said, why are you

Speaker:

persecuting me? Whatever

Speaker:

you've done unto the least of these, you're doing it to me.

Speaker:

And God called him and changed him. And he talks about how

Speaker:

he didn't really receive the gospel for many months, but Jesus

Speaker:

Himself gave him revelation of the gospel. So

Speaker:

that's, that's what he says through the rest of

Speaker:

the chapter. Let's see, do I

Speaker:

know how to work this? Oh, I do. Okay, Galatians. Now

Speaker:

there is a sheet that's handed out, or the one

Speaker:

that Pastor Jonathan said you could get as you leave. And

Speaker:

it's got some really good information in it. Yeah.

Speaker:

It's, it's deep. It's, it's thick.

Speaker:

There's a lot of information in it. So I just want to, I just want

Speaker:

to say, don't be discouraged if you get lost in the handout.

Speaker:

If you do, understand that the

Speaker:

handout, you know, it's

Speaker:

important. Sometimes it's very important, but it's important to maybe

Speaker:

know some background and where things are coming from. But the real important thing is

Speaker:

what is the book saying? Yes. What is it

Speaker:

saying to me? What is it saying right now? And if

Speaker:

you do understand the handout, then hallelujah for you. Just don't get lost

Speaker:

from the path because you're paying attention to the weeds. Okay.

Speaker:

Paul in Galatia. Galatia, it's to the, to the churches of

Speaker:

Galatia. And it's in— this is Turkey, in case

Speaker:

some of you don't recognize it. And all that stuff in green

Speaker:

right there, that's Galatia. Okay. And we know of

Speaker:

at least 4 of the churches in Galatia

Speaker:

because Paul visited them on his missionary journeys,

Speaker:

Antioch and Pisidia. And the reason why it's—

Speaker:

they say it's Pisidia is to distinguish it from

Speaker:

this Antioch in Syria, which is where Paul was sent out from,

Speaker:

and to also distinguish it from the Antioch in Tennessee.

Speaker:

And then Iconium and Lystra and Derbe, those, those were

Speaker:

churches that we know of in that area. I suspect that there were,

Speaker:

that there were probably other others. And his main reason for

Speaker:

writing was to combat the teaching that Christian

Speaker:

believers—

Speaker:

oh, I actually have this. Yeah. Yeah, his main reason

Speaker:

for writing was to combat the teaching that Christian believers had to be physically

Speaker:

circumcised and follow the Law of Moses in order to be

Speaker:

saved. Now, this was— this teaching

Speaker:

was a challenge in the early years of the church. And, you

Speaker:

know, forms of it are still kind of with us today. But

Speaker:

it was a challenge. And it was such a challenge that the

Speaker:

church leaders got together at Jerusalem

Speaker:

in Acts chapter 15 to discuss whether or not

Speaker:

they wanted to endorse this or not endorse it. And they

Speaker:

decided to not endorse it.

Speaker:

In Acts chapter 15, verses 28

Speaker:

and 29, they wrote a letter to the Gentile believers and they said

this:

Seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to not burden you with

this:

anything beyond the following requirements. You are to

this:

abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood,

this:

from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do

this:

well to avoid these things. Now, there's a

this:

lot of theology you can kind of dive into there and go,

this:

well, what does that mean? And let's go here. But I'm not going to do

this:

that tonight because I'm not interested in that.

this:

I'm interested in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.

this:

Yeah. And I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't matter, but I'm just saying

this:

it doesn't matter. Now,

this:

while this was his specific purpose in writing

this:

this letter, these are truths that can be applied

this:

to other teachings that pervert the gospel

this:

as well. Apostle, the

this:

word apostle, he mentions the fact that he's an apostle. And, you

this:

know, that sounds very important, and we've kind of

this:

exalted that title, but it literally just means

this:

one who is sent out. That's really what it means. And, you know, and

this:

there are debates. Some say the

this:

term should apply only to those who were eyewitnesses of

this:

Jesus' ministry, plus Paul, while

this:

others take a more broad view and say apostles still

this:

exist today. And some say, well, no, there's just the age of the apostles.

this:

I take the latter. I do believe that

this:

that everything that happened in Acts can happen here and

this:

should happen today. And I believe that there are apostles today, but

this:

it's, it's not really a big deal to necessarily— titles.

this:

I mean, I understand showing respect, but titles—

this:

God's no respecter of persons. You know, he's not a

this:

respecter of your nationality. He's not a respecter of

this:

your ethnicity. He's not a respecter of your position. People

this:

are people. Amen. And people who seem to be

this:

special people, get to know

this:

them. Just ask Michelle.

this:

For those of you who don't know, Michelle knew me as Pastor Ronnie

this:

before she knew me as Ronnie.

this:

I just made that up.

this:

When I was, when I was growing up in the Assemblies of God,

this:

our youth group was called the Christ Ambassadors, the

this:

CAs. Yeah. And we had a theme song

this:

and a marching song and everything to go with it.

this:

And it was pretty good, except for the fact that the age

this:

range in the Assemblies of God Christ

this:

ambassadors, you had to be at least 13. Yeah. And

this:

not older than 35. And, you know, people who are

this:

35 and people who are 13 don't necessarily have a whole—

this:

anyway,

this:

Paul says when he— over later, he's talking about going to

this:

Jerusalem and sharing the gospel that Christ gave to

this:

him, revealed to him with those who were leaders in the church.

this:

And he says this, as for those who were held in high esteem

this:

whatever they were, makes no difference to me. God doesn't show favoritism.

this:

They added nothing to my gospel.

this:

He also makes a big deal here at the beginning of

this:

pointing out that these are things not of human

this:

origin.

this:

Paul goes out of the way to emphasize that his calling and the gospel he

this:

preached are not of human origin. What man sees

this:

and what God sees is very different. It's very

this:

different. You know, I don't care how long you've been walking with the Lord,

this:

you still don't see things the way God sees them. Now, maybe,

this:

maybe he's led you a little bit to where you see them a little

this:

bit more the way he sees them. And we hear these

this:

stories and we know these things,

this:

but I don't think any of us

this:

really come close to seeing how God sees.

this:

It was a— it was the same in the Old Testament. You know, when Samuel

this:

went to anoint David and he first saw David's brother,

this:

it was Eliab, right? He was, he was the eldest.

this:

Anyway, the guy was very impressive looking. And God said,

this:

don't consider his appearance. Hmm. Don't,

this:

don't consider his height. I've rejected him. The Lord doesn't

this:

look at things as people look at things. People, people look

this:

at outward appearance. God, God looks at the heart. God looks at the

this:

heart. And one of the things that I've had to learn over the years,

this:

especially the years in ministry, is it's so, it's so easy

this:

to judge somebody's heart. It's so easy to go, well, that's why they did that.

this:

You don't know. You don't have any

this:

idea what's in their heart. Only God

this:

can see into somebody's heart. And even if you could,

this:

Isaiah tells us, my thoughts aren't your thoughts.

this:

My ways aren't your ways. Maybe you do know why they did that,

this:

but you don't know why I— what I know

this:

about what's coming down. Man sees things through an outward

this:

metric. It considers size and

this:

appearance. worldly influence.

this:

This is a big church, and this is a small

this:

church, and this is a medium-sized church. So this one is

this:

really blowing and going for God, and

this:

there may not be any God in it, or the wrong God.

this:

Yeah. And this one— I grew up in

this:

a church that If we had

this:

120 people, it was, it was celebration Sunday.

this:

Yeah. You know, it was something special. I think one Easter we may have run

this:

150. I don't know. It was something

this:

special. But I learned to really appreciate the heart.

this:

Oh, my goodness. Barbie's mom,

this:

the church that she pastored, a little small church.

this:

A lot of sacrifice. I mean, let me just tell

this:

you, small churches have as many problems as big churches. That's right.

this:

They really do. And you know why? People attend them.

this:

And if you get real close, which you tend to

this:

do at small churches, and everybody gets into everybody's business,

this:

you know, but the pastors,

this:

Who sacrifice, almost all of them, bivocationally.

this:

They have to actually work to make a living.

this:

Lord, we'll keep him humble for you. We'll

this:

see to it that, you know, he stays faithful because he's going to pray

this:

for his daily bread if he's going to pastor here.

this:

If the pastors who pastor those small

this:

churches, oh Lord, I have such

this:

respect, such regard

this:

for them. I got a feeling that when we get to heaven, if

this:

there is a pantheon of great pastors,

this:

I'm not going to know any of their names. And you aren't either

this:

till we get to the other side. Yeah.

this:

Size, appearance, worldly influence,

this:

One of the troubling aspects for me in the

this:

church today is,

this:

is our striving, our desire for worldly influence.

this:

We've got to make a difference in the culture.

this:

We've got to make a difference. You know, our voice needs to be

this:

heard at the Capitol. Our voice needs to

this:

be heard at the throne. Yes. That's where it

this:

needs to be heard. And if our focus is

this:

elsewhere, then that's where it's going to be heard

this:

rather than, rather than at the throne. Jesus,

this:

Jesus was watching people

this:

put money in the offering one day. And you know

this:

this, this story. You know, he said to his disciples,

this:

this widow puts in 2 coins. And he says, she's put in more

this:

than everybody else. That's not a lesson about giving.

this:

That's a lesson about how God sees things.

this:

That's, that's a lesson about the way he looks at things.

this:

What we think is small, he doesn't necessarily think

this:

is small. Okay,

this:

so let's look for a minute at the results

this:

of any other gospel. Because my,

this:

my purpose tonight is to try and have everyone leave here as

this:

a 10 when it comes to thinking, I can share the gospel

this:

with people.

this:

What now? We've been here every week. You hadn't been here then.

this:

Back up too far, you're going to go down. I'm going to go down?

this:

How? Wayne just said to me, you're going down.

this:

I appreciate— I appreciate your concern, brother. You sound like my

this:

wife. Well,

this:

Ronnie.

this:

All right, let's look at this verse again.

this:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a

this:

gospel other than the one we preached to you, Let them be under

this:

God's curse. What is he saying there?

this:

What is it to be under God's curse?

this:

Okay, I hope to not offend anyone,

this:

but I might. If I do— is Justin still in

this:

here? Yes, he is. I feel you,

this:

brother.

this:

Hope to not offend anyone.

this:

But what does it mean to say, I hope you're under God's

this:

curse?

this:

There's a phrase that none of us decent people

this:

use, but that's what it means.

this:

We all have triggers. We have things that trigger us.

this:

Some of the things are worth getting triggered over, and some

this:

of the things, it's just our stuff. Paul

this:

got triggered about the gospel of

this:

Jesus Christ. If we're going

this:

to— if you're going to bump

this:

your bucket against the side of the

this:

well and mess up the water for

this:

everybody, Yeah. Paul, that

this:

triggered Paul when it came to the gospel of Jesus.

this:

This is— the gospel is important.

this:

It is extremely important. And how it's shared and

this:

what is shared with it is intensely

this:

important.

this:

I— there was a man, some of you who've been at the church for a

this:

long time have heard me share— I better stay up here, shouldn't I? Heard me

this:

share about a

this:

guy named Kenneth Ware, missionary to the French gypsies

this:

back in the 20th century.

this:

Back in the 1900s.

this:

And before he came to our church to

this:

hold a meeting, the pastor shared about Kenneth Ware several

this:

times and shared some incredible, miraculous

this:

stories about, about Brother Ware.

this:

And Brother Ware came and he shared at the church and he was—

this:

I was deeply influenced by him.

this:

Man couldn't sing at all.

this:

Every— and if he didn't have— he was, he was such an unusual

this:

preacher, such an unusual presenter of the gospel. Justin, you need to hear this.

this:

If he didn't have anything to say, he didn't say

this:

it. We all need to hear it, not

this:

just Justin. And there

this:

would be periods— I think he just said something.

this:

There would be periods where he would just—

this:

And that blew me away. I went, that's— wow.

this:

And I think the last night that he was there, he said,

this:

many people have come to me and asked me to,

this:

to tell about the miracles, the miracles

this:

in my life. He said, I

this:

will tell you about the greatest miracle.

this:

God gave us

this:

Jesus. And I went, whoa.

this:

I mean, that, that started sinking in as well.

this:

Yeah. And if Jesus is the most valuable

this:

gift that has ever been given,

this:

The most valuable message is the

this:

good news about Jesus. It's more important than

this:

all of the teachings about theology. It's more important than all

this:

of the teachings about church growth. It's more important than all

this:

the teachings about personal growth. Jesus

this:

is the essence.

this:

It's the gospel. And when the gospel of

this:

Jesus and the good news of God fully comes,

this:

it's received with great joy.

this:

We spent 3 years in

this:

Zimbabwe in the mid-'80s, and I was teaching in a Bible school. I

this:

wasn't doing a lot of teaching in

this:

individual churches, but I was teaching in the Bible school. But I would

this:

go to these meetings, Sometimes I'd speak, sometimes

this:

somebody else would speak, but inevitably

this:

when the gospel was presented, people came. They

this:

came forward and I thought, wow, that's a— you know, I

this:

hear that a lot on the mission field. But think about it.

this:

If you've got people who've never heard the gospel before,

this:

here's the good news. Okay. There's a God. Oh,

this:

we know that. We've been

this:

serving, sacrificing for generations. We

this:

know there's a God. He loves you.

this:

Wait a minute. That's not necessarily what we've been told about Him.

this:

In fact, He loves you so much that He gave His Son to

this:

die for you. What? He sacrificed?

this:

I thought we were sacrificing to Him. No, He sacrificed first.

this:

And you don't have to die. Of

this:

course people come. Of course

this:

people who've never heard this message before go,

this:

yes, I want some of that.

this:

How do I— how do I get that? The first time that this gospel was

this:

preached was by angels. I bring

this:

you good news of great joy. That

this:

will be for all the people. This day in the city of

this:

David, a Savior is born unto you. He's

this:

Christ the Lord. And they received it

this:

with great joy.

this:

There's a prayer that I've— that I came

this:

across 2 or 3 years ago. that

this:

I've come to basically

this:

start my mornings with every day.

this:

Blessed be God the Father forever and ever, Creator of

this:

heaven and earth. As your dawn

this:

renews the face of the earth,

this:

may we rejoice in this day you have made as

this:

we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep. Open our

this:

eyes to behold your presence. Strengthen our hands to do

this:

your will. And this is the kicker. This is what got me, that the

this:

world may rejoice and give you praise.

this:

Yet somehow this good news

this:

has shifted in our presentation

this:

from good news of great joy to sinners in the hands

this:

of an angry God.

this:

Don't catch many flies with that honey. Honey, you know, they—

this:

Yes, there is

this:

judgment coming. There is a hell to escape.

this:

But that's not the good news. In fact,

this:

I would say, I mean, whatever they say outwardly,

this:

I would say, you know, to tell someone, you know, you're a sinner,

this:

you're not telling them anything they don't know.

this:

Every single one of us know that we've fallen

this:

short of the glory of God.

this:

It is a travesty of the highest order to pervert the gospel,

this:

to muddy the waters, To

this:

make it unclear. What was,

this:

what was not the gospel that Paul preached?

this:

Anything that adds to the faith in Christ.

this:

Anything that adds to it. Now, the specific situation in

this:

this case was you have to be circumcised and follow the Law of

this:

Moses. You know, believe in Christ, but you got to be circumcised

this:

and follow the Law of Moses and and do this, and then you can be

this:

saved. And Paul was going, may you be under God's curse

this:

for preaching that, for bringing it that way.

this:

You know, the Jews added a lot to the Law of Moses.

this:

Yeah. And I'm not

this:

throwing them under the bus because so do Christians.

this:

not necessarily to the Law of Moses, but to the faith.

this:

We add a whole lot of, whole lot of

this:

stuff. Believe and

this:

be baptized. Well, it's important to be baptized. I think it's good to be baptized.

this:

But Jesus, he said,

this:

whoever believes in me will have eternal life.

this:

Well, believe and and walk the

this:

aisle. You know,

this:

it's been a while since I've heard these phrases, but I was thinking about them

this:

the other day and it kind of— how many of you ever been in a

this:

church service and heard the, the

this:

command, every head bowed and every eye closed,

this:

no looking around? Amen.

this:

You know, if you, if you need Christ, if you're, if

this:

you know that you're falling short, can I, can I see your hand?

this:

I see that hand. Sometimes I wonder, I bet there's not even a hand

this:

up. You know, they're just saying

this:

it to prime the pump, you know.

this:

And, and after a while you learn, don't raise your hand.

this:

You know, because the next thing is going to be, if you raised your hand,

this:

will you stand up? Just, just come on,

this:

take that step right now. Stand up.

this:

You know, and then yes, make your way down front. Just

this:

come on now. And maybe you got to sign a commitment card,

this:

or maybe you got to, got to do something else.

this:

C.S. Lewis, I had a quote one time, and I can't remember it

this:

exactly, but I remember the essence of it. And it

this:

basically said, we know that everyone who

this:

gets saved does so through the Lord Jesus Christ.

this:

But the Bible doesn't tell us how.

this:

Doesn't give us the formula that has to be followed.

this:

Doesn't tell this is the way that it works.

this:

I don't know how it works. I just know you believe

this:

in Christ and God does something miraculous

this:

that happens.

this:

Believe in Christ and straighten up and fly right.

this:

Mm-hmm. We are called to fish

this:

for men, but it's not our job to clean them.

this:

Come

this:

on. That's the job of the Holy Ghost.

this:

We can't clean them. We can make them like us. Oh, God help them.

this:

That's all we know how to do. The Holy Spirit is the

this:

one who can make them like Christ,

this:

transform them into Christ. Yeah, I mean, there's a place for,

this:

you know, teaching. This is, This is, this is wrong

this:

and this is right. But I've discovered over the years that I can

this:

tell people what's wrong and right till I'm blue in the face. But

this:

nothing changes until the Holy Ghost tells them what's right

this:

and what's wrong and convicts them of

this:

it.

this:

Our job is to bring the gospel And then our job is to

this:

love them. And the Holy Ghost will

this:

do his work. Kind of stay in our lane.

this:

Yeah. Well, anything that adds to faith in Christ,

this:

anything that focuses on something other than

this:

Christ— you're going to enjoy this—

this:

money, It was probably

this:

about— well, no, I think money's probably always been a thing. But it

this:

was really in the '70s when,

this:

at least in my lifetime, it began to be revealed to us

this:

that come to Jesus and God will give you money.

this:

If you just have faith, you'll get stuff.

this:

And the first time I heard that message, I thought, this doesn't feel right.

this:

Something feels wrong about this. And when we, and when we

this:

left the service later that night, it hit me.

this:

I left the church thinking about a new car.

this:

I should have left thinking about Jesus.

this:

That should have been what I was pointed towards. Politics.

this:

Please let me go there for a minute.

this:

Okay, I'm gonna come back now.

this:

Jesus said, and I don't know why we have such a hard time

this:

understanding this, but Jesus said, my

this:

kingdom is not of this world.

this:

Not of this world. It's from another place.

this:

It's a whole different thing than anything you can

this:

actually imagine. And yet

this:

the church gets so involved. It started

this:

in the '70s. I'll tell you when it started. Yeah, I can even tell you

this:

who started it, but I'm not going to say any names.

this:

And since then, oh yeah, we've got, we

this:

got influence. We're electing people. We're getting, we're getting stuff

this:

done. And fewer and fewer and fewer

this:

people are coming to Christ.

this:

There's an inverse

this:

relationship there, I believe.

this:

In the letter to the churches in Revelation,

this:

the church at Laodicea. You

this:

say that I'm— that you're wealthy. I have need of nothing. I have

this:

everything. You do not realize you are wretched and pitiful

this:

and poor.

this:

Issues, issues. Oh, this issue is so important.

this:

Don't we realize that to get people's

this:

focus away from Christ—

this:

I can't snap my fingers very well. I used to when I was young.

this:

But to get people away from Christ takes that long. Yeah.

this:

Just takes that long. Everybody is squirrel.

this:

Soon as something comes up that we can look at and focus on,

this:

that's not Christ. That's, that's, that's just the way— I

this:

heard a, I heard a phrase used, um,

this:

by a pastor recently. Uh, he was talking about

this:

kingdom culture. Yeah. how important it is to have

this:

kingdom culture. And that

this:

just got all over me because I went,

this:

I don't know anybody who actually knows what kingdom

this:

culture is.

this:

I really don't. We all have our pet issues

this:

and we call that kingdom culture. But this set of issues over

this:

here, yeah, that's not kingdom culture.

this:

Kingdom culture is to do

this:

what Jesus said, love one another.

this:

That's kingdom culture. That's what it is. You know,

this:

I don't care what your theology is.

this:

Well, you know, beyond a couple of things that I'll talk about in a minute.

this:

If you don't love people, If I don't see the fruit of

this:

love in your life.

this:

Paul says, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have

this:

not love, I'm— I might as well

this:

be ringing a bell somewhere.

this:

And I grew up in a culture where speaking in tongues was

this:

a very important theology.

this:

And for a while I thought, this is a very important theology. People need to

this:

know this. You can speak in tongues. Hey,

this:

speaking in tongues is great. It really is. But

this:

if you do it and you don't have love,

this:

doesn't matter. I don't really care what your politics are.

this:

I have opinions. You have opinions.

this:

And none of those opinions are in the Bible. But we find verses in the

this:

Bible to back up our opinions. and go,

this:

well, there it is right there. Yeah, well, somebody else found another one and said,

this:

well, there it is over here. I don't care what your politics are.

this:

I don't care where you stand on issues. Do you love

this:

people? When,

this:

when, when people enter into relationship with you,

this:

do they feel the presence of Jesus Christ? Do they feel the

this:

love of Christ? Are they attracted to the beauty of Christ?

this:

I don't bat 1,000 on this. Ask— don't ask my wife.

this:

She's kind of helped me see a few things.

this:

So what is the gospel that Paul preached? If we're going to be 10s, we

this:

got to— we got to figure this out. What is the gospel

this:

that Paul preached? Well, you can remember it

this:

by the words—

this:

the word KISS. Keep

this:

it simple, saint.

this:

Jesus Christ crucified,

this:

buried, and risen. That's what he

this:

preached. That's what he preached.

this:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, for what I received, I

this:

passed on to you as of first importance,

this:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he

this:

was buried, that he was raised on the third day

this:

according to the Scriptures.

this:

He gave a lot of advice. In his other

this:

letters. Yeah.

this:

But they were never intended to be a substitute

this:

for the DBR, as Rodney Boyd used to call it, death, burial, and

this:

resurrection. They were never

this:

intended to displace the

this:

message of the gospel.

this:

Many focus on Paul's advice as if that

this:

was his gospel. But Paul himself didn't focus on that

this:

stuff. Look,

this:

Michelle and I were talking on the way here. She had lunch with a friend

this:

today who enlightened

this:

her to the fact that all churches have problems.

this:

Yes. She didn't know that till she married me.

this:

And, you know, and I said, well, of course. Yeah, of course they, they

this:

do. And those problems have to be addressed at times.

this:

And most of what Paul is writing in his letters is

this:

addressing problems. But that's not the

this:

gospel. That's, that's not what we're

this:

charged with taking To the, to the

this:

world.

this:

Paul focused on Christ when it came to that.

this:

What a concept. What, what an

this:

idea. And Jesus

this:

made it even more simple.

this:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

this:

Son, That whoever believes in Him shall not perish,

this:

but have eternal life. You know that verse.

this:

If you know that verse, then you are fully

this:

equipped to share the gospel.

this:

You are fully equipped. Yeah, but what if they ask me a

this:

question? That's the answer. Yeah,

this:

but they might ask me a question about something else. That's the answer.

this:

Amen. It— we get intimidated because we think, you know, who's,

this:

who's going to believe all this? You know, I mean, God

this:

sent Jesus and He was born and He lived a sinless life

this:

and He died for my sins and, and we killed Him and God raised Him

this:

from the dead so that none of us have to die anymore. Well,

this:

you can add something to that, but you're starting to muddy the water

this:

once you do. That's it. And yeah, it is kind of intimidating because

this:

in the culture we live in and the age we live in, people know

this:

better than that.

this:

Yes. But do we have faith or not? Because

this:

it's about faith. There's a reason why it's called the faith.

this:

Whoever believes in him

this:

doesn't have to die. God loves you.

this:

And if you know that, you have the gospel.

this:

And that is good news.

this:

More good news? I'm done.

this:

Raise your hand. Let me give you a blessing. May the God

this:

and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

this:

cause the, the purity of the

this:

gospel to burn in your heart.

this:

And as you see the world and you see people hurting and

this:

in need, have the courage to know

this:

you have the answer, and the answer is him.

this:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. Amen.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Springhouse Church Midweek
Springhouse Church Midweek

Listen for free