Carrying The Good News

Of course, good morning to all of those that are watching and watching online. We're glad that you are with us today. And last week, I understand there was a takeover by my son Jackson Champion, and you know, there was a quarterback for the New England Patriots that got hurt, and then they put in a guy named Tom Brady. Tom never left, so I'm still here in Jesus' name. But Jackson, great job, and of course, I'm grateful for just the young communicators and just what God is doing in our church. This is a great time to be alive in our world today. Despite everything that's going on in the world, it's a great opportunity for God to show His glory and for God to show His power. Can I hear an amen? And He can show it through our carrying the gospel, carrying the good news, and Easter is a fantastic time for you, as you just saw in that video, carrying an invite card, carrying the opportunity for people to know that they are pleased. Please come, welcome to church, and that is what I think is important. Most people are just looking for an invitation. Most people just don't know what to do, they don't know where to go. Last year we had over 20, I think right over 20,000 people attending Easter, and this is just a great opportunity. We've got our service Friday too on Saturday here at Georgetown, and then our four services on Sunday. I want to encourage you, as many as you can, to take advantage of our Saturday service, if possible, or our last service, because you know what's going to happen. We're just going to have to create room for people who we haven't seen maybe in their whole life or since Christmas, and they just love the 10 o'clock service. They just love that prime time opportunity, and so as much as we can be flexible, but as much as we can, let's just make sure that God is using us to bring invitations and invites to people. We had a great trip, Lori and I.

We just got back Friday night. We flew to Rome, then we went to Bologna, where we spoke to pastors and to a church that also had some 20 pastors gather from around the country, and Sicily as well, so kind of a leadership day, and then we went down to our church, and the campus is there in Naples. Great report. They are doing great. There's about 1,200 people that call Celebration Church their home in Caserta and in Naples, and we were on the base as well speaking to the military. They do a chapel service once a month, and the coolest story is how God has placed the chaplain of the naval base there in Naples, 15 minutes from either campus from Round Rock, Texas, everybody. He's from Austin, Texas, Round Rock. In fact, his house is in Round Rock. Got radically saved, joined the military, and now he literally has given us just the incredible opportunity to go to the base and to minister as they are bringing families from all over the Middle Eastern region, as you know. We're relocating families out of where there's threats and bombs and things of that nature, and so our church is being called upon to help these families that are coming literally with nothing, military families. These are our families, our military personnel who have been told to leave the country immediately. They only had their passport, and we're talking babies in the arms of moms with no milk, with no stroller, with no clothes, and we are helping them get strollers and clothes and milk, and we are doing what we can to provide for them, and the good news, and of course there's hundreds of these families, the good news is they're not there but for a couple of days because then they're being brought to our country or wherever they're going, but we have been asked to step into that space, and how many know that is what Christians do? They fill the space. In fact, I want you to go with me to the book of Romans because I want to talk to you today out of Romans chapter 10, and when you go to Romans chapter 10, it really is Paul now

giving his heart and giving the heartbeat of the gospel and the heartbeat of his life, the heartbeat of, if you will, filling spaces, filling the space with the gospel, filling people's hearts that are empty with God's love. Paul says in Romans chapter 10 and verse 1, brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and my prayer to God. And of course he is in literal context talking about his own countrymen, his own people, the Israelites, Israel, but I don't think it's just given to that. I think we can also safely say that God died for everyone. Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for their salvation. I mean, that's really when it comes down to it. As Paul is saying, here is my heart's desire, and then he says, my prayers. You can really say my life boils down to this for people to know salvation, for people to know God. And of course God has come to save us, and that is not just in the realm or in the work that relates to after this world. It's being saved from all of our enemies even now. It's not just from wrath. God did not just come to save us for a timeless eternity, but he came to save us. In fact, Proverbs 16 and 7 talks about people who are on the right pathway. When the Lord has a people who are walking in the ways that are pleasing to him. Now that word ways means pathway. When a man's path is pleasing to the Lord, or when a man's path is in the Lord, God can even take his enemies and make those enemies become peaceful. The reality is, is that we all have our enemies. How many know what I'm talking about? But enemies are not just, it's not just your neighbors, it's not just people. Of course we have an ultimate enemy, Satan. And we also know that there are enemies of sickness and disease, and enemies that we face every day of fear and doubt. And the Bible says that when we place our life in his salvation or in his plan, but

it's more than a plan, in the person of Christ, the Bible says God takes even those enemies that are trying to destroy us and God makes them bow down. How many want to see the Lord cause some things that are attacking you to bow down and to turn its nature against or away from you? And so when Paul talks about this in Romans 10, he goes, my prayer, my life, my purpose, my purpose on this planet is that people would be saved. Really that should be everyone's purpose. That should be everybody's prayers. Lord, wherever I go, I want people to know who you are. Then he says in Romans chapter 10, he says, beginning in the 13th verse, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We'll enter into this kingdom. We'll enter into this reign, this realm is what the kingdom means. And the Bible says they will be found in safety or protection. How then are they to call on him? How do they call on this name in whom they've not believed? And how are they to believe in him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? I mean, Paul is bringing an answer to what many people ask. What happens to people who don't know? What happens to people who have not heard? What happens to people who die without the good news of Jesus, without the knowledge that their sins have been forgiven and his name is Jesus, the forgiver? Paul is clearly telling us we have a job to do. Paul is clearly telling us, Paul is giving very clear indication of his theology that you and I just cannot say we're just going to trust God. Oh, we trust God. I mean, we all know there are people, we've all had people in our lives who we've wondered, where did they go?

You know those uncles and those aunts and moms and dads. And we say, I just have to give them to God, and that's true, you do. No one has the book in their own hands. Only God has the book. But the Bible says Paul clearly is giving us indication. We have a job to do. We have a responsibility. He came here for us, and now we are here for Him. He came for us. He stood for us. He died for us. He revealed the gospel, and before He even revealed the gospel, He made the gospel. He produced the gospel, and now guess what we get to do? We get to carry the gospel. It's not just about coming into you. It's about the gospel coming out of you. Many people are great at allowing, in fact, we all have to do this at some point in our life to be saved. We allow the entrance of the gospel to come into our lives, our beings, but then there has to be the coming out or the furtherance of the gospel, the carrying of the gospel. Now watch what He says. How beautiful are the what feet? I don't know if you like your feet. I don't. I'm not saying your feet. I'm talking about my feet. I don't like my feet. My feet are not very pretty. They look like fins. They look more like ice skating instruments.

When I walk out of a pool or if I come out of somewhere wet, and then you're walking across the concrete, people will say, what beeth that? What creature has just come into our realm? It's weird. And then they're flat at the same time. They're about that wide and just flat. And scientists come from all over the world to study my footprints and my feet. I'm a 14, 15. Be with. My mother was a 5A width. In other words, she was an A5. It's the weirdest looking feet you've ever seen. And then yet my dad, his feet were as wide as this building. And so when you think about the word, how beautiful are the feet, we often don't like our feet. We often look at that and we say, well, how can feet be beautiful? And some people love their feet. Some people think their feet are beautiful. But of course, I think that when we take off our shoes and show our feet, in fact, can we just do that right now? It was an issue in the upper room. Do you remember? When Jesus said, let me see your feet, Peter said, you're not looking at my feet. You're not touching my feet. The reality is, is that feet are also, they're not just sometimes ugly. They're stinky. How many have little kids? You still have little kids. How many still have the smell of those little kids, even though they're 34 years old? There's 250,000 sweat glands in each foot.

And I want to think about this. When Paul is quoting Isaiah chapter 52, how delightful, watch this, how delightful on the mountains are the feet of one who brings good news. How delightful on the mountain, or in other words, what he's saying is how beautiful are the feet that have climbed the mountain. How beautiful, but how stinky. The reality is, is they're stinky because they're sweaty. And the reality is, is that it takes sweat to get salvation to people. You're going to have to sweat. You're going to have to suffer. You're going to have to be rejected. Does it sound like Jesus? Does it sound like Jesus? That he even sweat drops like blood, the Bible says. In fact, it was blood. The Bible tells us he suffered. He's called the suffering servant. The Bible says that he would put into his feet his life, and he would come to this world. And then he gives us the charge. He gives us, as we read Isaiah a little bit deeper, he goes, those who go to the mountains, those who take those steps to where people are not easily found to be receptive to the gospel, they bring good news, who announce peace. They bring good news of happiness, who announce salvation. And they say, how beautiful are those who say, your God reigns, or there's a God who has conquered. In Romans and in Isaiah, the message is not about feet. God's intention in even this scripture is not so that we would look at our feet but the intention is what do feet do? What is the foot message? It's what feet do.

It's where feet go. And does it matter, and I think it's interesting, that as much as we say feet are sweaty or our feet may be ugly, but can I just tell you God uses stories that are really from ugly backgrounds to carry good news. In fact, you may say, I don't like myself, I don't like my feet, I don't like how I am at times, and the reality is we are all at times not who we want to be, but we know in the inside of our hearts God has saved us, and we still have a story. We still have news, we still have to carry, we still have to go, and this is what God is asking us to do. It is about what moves us. It's our feet that causes us to transfer or to advance. The foot message, again, in the Bible is about pathway. It's about direction. And what you and I have to understand is why I think God is calling us, even in such a time as this, is that it's not about our feet. It's about are we willing to go? Are we willing to be used by God to not bring ourselves, but to bring the good news? That in other words, without the good news, without the gospel, how can they be saved? Helen Keller, when they talk about her salvation experience, and of course there was a gentleman that really basically learned how to communicate to her and began to bring communication from her, and she would live in this silent, dark world, and then he would bring a pastor to her. And she's been in this lonely world, if you will, silent world, dark world, and communicating through her teacher, this pastor would talk about God and would tell her name or to her the name of Jesus. And she says, oh, communicating him back, that's what you called him. For in that world, God had been talking to her, but she didn't know his name. See, when you read the book of Romans, Paul talks about everybody has had a witness of God. No one is without an excuse.

The Bible says he's clearly made himself known through his creation. But not everyone knows his name. They say some four billion people have yet to hear the name Jesus. There's some seven billion people on the planet, they think that as many as up to four billion people have never heard to this moment his name. And they're living in silence, they're living in darkness, they're living without hope, the Bible says. And we think we can just say, well, God's going to save them. And Paul says, that's not how this works. Paul says, we're going to have to put some sweat, we're going to have to put some stinky feet on the ground. And you may say, well, my life is stinky, my testimony is stinky, I don't like where I am even right now, and God says, get over yourself. You've got good news. If you're a believer, you have responsibility. The Bible says it, from that Isaiah, that God wants us to go and to declare. See, when you read the Bible, and when you study the Scripture, one of the most important facts as you are in your word and as you're reading Scripture, what's critical is that the Bible is not a historical book. Oh, it has history. It's a story, it's got the stories of history, the stories of Israel, the stories of the prophets, the stories of the apostles, the story of Jesus. We could go through the various things, the book of Acts, the stories of the church. We could talk about all the stories of His miracles, but really, it's not that. The book, the primary purpose and the primary motivation is what Paul was saying in Romans chapter 10 and verse 1. This book is the history of redemption. This book was for this reason, redeeming a people out of the world. It is a calling forth of people, you and me and all who would believe, to come into the relationship.

that God has offered in putting his son on the planet, in putting his feet on the planet. It's a history of redemption. It's a history of God's love. This is what the Bible is. It's a history of his heart, his mind, his will, his intention, his ultimate intention. Therefore, what is the book giving us in reading? Not just in the history of redemption, but it's also now what will be our history and what will be our part in redemption. What will be our place in the book, the book of life? It's just one thing for you to be a partaker. And as awesome and as wonderful as that is, but how can we just say, I want to only participate or want God to participate for me and I don't want to play a part in others participating in him? See, this is God's will, is that all mankind? When you read the Bible, understand the Bible is one sermon. It's a sermon. It's the greatest sermon that has ever been preached. Of course, you may say it's John 3, 16. It's God so loved the world. And yes, there's that reality. That is the good news. It's God's grace. It's God's power. It's not our power. It's not our decision that saved us.

How many are thankful that it was God's decision? You can call it God's sovereignty. God stepped into this world. I do believe we have a responsibility ultimately, but you have to see that it was God's kindness, even in the midst of our failure, even in the midst of our weakness. We were lost, and we sang it this morning. We were lost, we were wayward, we were confused, we were ignorant, we were blind, we were a wretch. Let's just bring it down to the truth, is that we were rebellious. We were not just wayward. We were not just, well, wrong. We went wild. I know some of y'all have some wild history. You got some wild stories. And that's why God came. He died, he was crucified. For what reason? So that we could experience and be participants in this incredible story of religion. He wasn't just crucified as a story that happened. We were, in our own nature, the killers. Oh, Pastor Judd, I had no part to play. He died. The fact, the Bible says that as one man, and through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world. We are all in the lineage of Adam until Christ came. And then the Bible says, and then this one man.

Look at the Bible tells us, Romans 5 and 17. It was the offense of the one. Therefore, we are in the many. But we're all connected to that one. Death reigned because of that one. Death reigned through one. Then how much more now we can experience this grace through the gift of righteousness that came through this one Jesus. Then it says, as through one offense, the result was condemnation to all mankind. There it is. All of us were condemned. There was none righteous, no, not one. Do you understand this? This has to be a foundational principle in your understanding of what it means to be a believer in Christ. This is Christianity 101. This is where you and I must come to the conclusion we weren't born right with God. And maybe you came here today thinking I was always, and I have always been a Christian. My mom and my dad were just that people. And the reality is, no, you are not those people. In fact, you have to become his son and his daughter, which is through the understanding that as we were all guilty, the Bible says this one act of righteousness, this one act of this righteous, holy, pure, sinless man,

the result was justification of life. How many are thankful for the justification? Just as if I've never sinned. When you come into Christ, it's just as if you've never sinned. And when you get this understanding, and this is what Paul was saying. This is why Paul says in Romans 5 21. that as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life." Righteousness to eternal life. Righteousness, eternal life. Notice this almost step. You can't have eternal life without righteousness, and you can't be made righteous except through the sacrifice of Christ. Because if it is your righteousness, then it is self-righteousness. And how many of you know self never arrives to please God? See, the reality is that Christ pleased God. Christ is the only pleasure, if you will, the only pleasure that has found pleasure to God. But when you step into Christ, you step into His pleasure. When you step into Christ, you step out of yourself into Christ. Your focus is not yourself, your focus is Christ. What do you think He means that even my righteousness is as what? Filthy rags. That's a menstrual cloth in the original. That no matter what I do, even in my attempt to be right, even in my attempt to please God, it still is found empty. But when I step into Christ, I step out of emptiness into fullness. And in His righteousness, I am made complete. Can I hear an amen? You see, if you're not full of this beautiful news, see blessed are the feet, beautiful are the feet, pretty are the feet of those who carry the good news. What He is saying is beautiful and godly and righteous are those who understand who they are in Christ. And it doesn't just stay with them. It begins to become a part of their life. I want to carry the beautiful life to whoever I meet. See, this is what He's saying. This is Paul saying, why would you keep this beautiful news? How could you keep this beautiful, wonderful, exciting, but not just exciting in the form of temporary excitement? How could you not? Except maybe you haven't truly experienced it. Maybe you haven't truly understood it. You haven't truly seen it. I think in our world today, especially in America, how many would agree? And it's true in the natural modern church, I would say all over the world, that we come to God to feel better. And we really come to God

to feel better about ourselves and never having fallen in love with God. And when we don't fall in love with God, our feet never go in the direction that God wants them to go into. I'm saying all this because I want to go to a point. The point is what Paul was saying. Paul was saying, I'm not ashamed of this gospel. I'm not ashamed of this good news. I'm not ashamed of the testimony, 2 Timothy 1 and 8, of our Lord. And I'm not ashamed to be his prisoner. I think we have a couple of pictures I want to show you. When we went to Rome, if the team could put those pictures, we went to Rome and this is where Paul was in prison. And before there was stairs that brought us down into this room, in which I could barely stand all the way up, there was just a hole. There's a hole probably just right at the top of the picture there where they would throw Paul and they would throw those that would be in that prison with him and throw the food into this dark dungeon. And Paul says, I'm not ashamed. I'm not embarrassed. I'm not sad. This is not, I'm not saying it's easy, but it's beautiful. Because I am bringing the gospel. Paul says, I've arrived in Rome and when Paul arrived in Rome, he was a prisoner of the government for preaching the gospel. And Paul says, not from this particular scripture as we know, he wrote Philippians. from that prison cell. Oh, again I say rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice that we have stinky feet. I'm not ashamed of the testimony. I'm not ashamed of being his prisoner. Notice what he says in 2 Timothy 1.8, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. Join with me in what? In what? Suffering. For what? The gospel. Why would we want suffering? I don't want suffering. I don't like to suffer. I don't like pain. I don't like cold. I don't like hot. I don't like hungry. I don't like thirsty. I don't like rejection. I don't like that. And I don't think you do either. I want to be comfortable. I want it easy. I want it convenient. I want it my way. I don't want to travel because why? It's hard to travel. We don't have any TSA agents at the airport. You have to suffer. And of course, we could go through tongue in cheek, but all of that is just compared to our suffering is far different than what Paul was talking about. He goes, but I have no problem suffering for this beautiful gospel. This beautiful news. Because he says in Luke chapter 24, and then I'm going to land on this. He goes, Jesus said to these disciples, you are witnesses of these things. How many would say you've witnessed the good news of God in your own life? Who has witnessed forgiveness? You've witnessed in your own heart salvation. The Bible says you are already

saved. You're being saved, you are saved, and you will be saved. The Bible gives us those three ways of salvation. It's something that did happen. In fact, he already purchased our salvation. It is something that is happening. And then it is something that will take place. And so when you come to this understanding of God and what he's done in our lives, you come to this understanding. I'm a witness. Jesus said to the disciples, guys, you have witnessed so many things. My power, my miracles, my deliverance, my healing, my goodness, my kindness. You're a witness. Now behold, I am what? I'm sending you. Now go and be a witness of this good news. Just go and bring to them what you have seen. Mark 16, 15, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. You have seen me work. Now I will be with you and I will work with you. You've seen me show. I will show myself through you. It's why we do what we do. So I close with these thoughts at Easter and in particular this moment, that season that we're in. And we have something that works for us in a way that a lot of the world does not have. We have people that just go to church at Easter. People just think and they have this thought, I should go to church. And at Easter, and I'm putting it in this context because when you look at the word beautiful, how beautiful are the feet of those. When you look at that word beautiful, it's not just to flourish. It's not just to bloom. It is to flourish and to bloom in a special moment. Easter is a special moment. How many know it's a special moment in history, right? It's a special moment. When we talk about Easter, we're talking about the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. It's special. But we also have a moment in this season to show a world. And I just want to ask you these questions. At Easter, your feet should go in the direction of Jesus, number one. Let this be a moment. Let this be a season. Let these weeks, as we have next week, Palm Sunday. And of course, John Maxwell will be with us, a friend of our house, a friend of us in our church. And also, I invite all of you to be a part of our preview day next Friday. But it's more than just that. And of course, it's more than just services. It's you stopping and going, God, let me meditate on your cross. He says, I pray. In other words, let this be a season of just prayer. A season where the TV's not on, March Madness, just record it.

Your team probably lost anyway. And think about 2 Corinthians 13, four and five, indeed, he was crucified because of weakness, but because of the power of God he lives. And I might be weak, but I'm gonna live towards the power of God. Let this be a season, look at verse five. Let this be your prayer. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourself to see if you really are faithful. If you really are. Test, examine, prove to yourself that you're living in the reality of God. How many wanna be real? How many can't stand fake and facades and pretenders? Easter is a time for you to go, God, I want whatever's false, whatever's fake, whatever's a facade in my life, get it out of me. Because people who understand the cross understand reality and they don't wanna live superficial spiritual lives. At Easter, let's put our feet towards the direction of loving Jesus and having our own personal time. Number two, at Easter, your feet should go in the direction of inviting your family, your friends and your foes. You got QR cards. Let me give you a powerful story. When we were in Caserta, I'm on the chapel

or in that chapel service at the chapel of the base and Amanda and her four girls come to us after and before the service, before I even start to talk. And she says, you have a member in your church. His name is Craig or Chad. And says, Chad, when my husband and I are sitting at the table saying, God, we're in this foreign country, we're in this foreign city and Lord, we don't know where to go to church. She says, all of a sudden I get a Facebook invite or a Facebook comment from Chad, who was my youth pastor, youth worker in North Carolina. Her and her husband are moving to all over the world in the Navy. And she said, we don't know what to do. We're just literally at the table asking God, where do we go to church? And all of a sudden this Facebook message pops up. It's from Chad. Get out in the light, Chad. Further. All right. Thank you. Amanda says, hey, it's me, Chad. I don't know where you are in the world right now. I don't know where you're serving. I just know if you're in Italy, we have campuses in Naples and you need to go to Celebration Church. They're at the table, literally saying, where do we go to church in Naples?

Now they were fully devoted to bringing the gospel through Celebration Church. Their kids are plugged in, all because of an invite. All because of somebody going, hey, check this out. We have an invite. We have good news. And I mean, no, Chad is good news. Chad was bringing the good news. It changed. She said, it's changed. We've never had family like we have family at Celebration in Naples. It's an invite. And there are people, I'm just telling you, there are people who don't know what to do, where to go, how to go to church, what did the, I mean, it's just, it's crazy what's out there in our world today. Your feet should be going in the direction of people and inviting people. And number three, at Easter, your feet should go in the direction of serving. We have some needs, especially at Easter, but all year long, we have some needs. You know, you would imagine our first service, which is Friday, and then our last service, which is Sunday at 1.30, just by natural thinking, our lowest dream team involvement will be Friday, and our lowest dream team involvement will be at 1.30 on Sunday. But I'm also saying, if you have 21,000 people

show up to church, we need involvement. You say, Pastor Joe, I can't go to Naples. I can't go to Mozambique. I can't go, oh, but you can go to the parking lot and bring good news. You can drive a golf cart. You can serve in kids. You can bring the beautiful peace, the beautiful news, the beautiful gospel, the beautiful power of God in serving. which then goes to Naples and then it goes to Mozambique. It goes all over the world. You see, the reality is, is that you have been given beautiful feet because you have been given the beautiful gospel. And God says, beautiful will be your life. Beautiful will be your hope. Beautiful will be your dreams. Beautiful will be your family because you're carrying really what is the most beautiful thing in all the world, God's love. Can we bow our heads, please? The question is, for all of us, will we go? In fact, God says, who will go? Who will go for me? See, I know he came for me. I now want to say, Lord, I will go for you. And the cry in Isaiah is, of course, the same in Isaiah chapter six, who will go for me? And Isaiah says, here am I, Lord, send me. Wherever you need me, I will go.

And one of the beautiful parts and the beautiful truths about the church, the local church, it gives us a part to play. You have a part to play. I have a part to play. If you will just simply to just say, Lord, here am I, however part I can play, so that this great news of great joy can be delivered to people, send me. Who would say, Lord, here am I, send me? Let me see your hand. Somebody said, you know, the church just wants my money. No, the church doesn't want your money. God doesn't want your money. He wants more than your money. He wants everything about you. He wants your all. If you're here today and you'd say, Pastor Joe, I'm not saved. I know I'm not saved. I know my ways are not pleasing to God. I know I'm not serving the Lord. I know I'm not living for him. I know my life is really not about his kingdom, it's about me. In fact, today, if I were to die, I would not have eternal life. But today I wanna receive, today I hear him calling me. Would you just slip up your hand and say, yeah, that's me, that's me, that's me.

I see that hand, I see that hand, I see that hand. I see that hand, I see, I see, I see, I see, I see. Maybe today, it's a rededication. Lord, not my will, but your will be done. Can we say this out loud? Lord Jesus, because of what you did, I can have eternal life, forgiveness of sins. Because of your death, your perfect death, your perfect life, and your perfect resurrection, I believe that I'm saved. It's not me, it's you. That has now saved me. Step into my world, into my life, into my past, present, and future. It's all yours. Now, may my life be a difference in the lives of people. All of God's people said, before I go, before you come, Dwight will be honored Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock. For those that are part of our church, you know who Dwight is. Oh, he was, he was just an usher. He was just a man that would welcome people. How many know Dwight was no just usher? As he welcomed us into this church, God welcomed him into heaven. The greatest preacher we've probably ever had in this church is Dwight. Don't let your feet stay away from what God wants to do through you.

Let's just see God do some great things this coming Easter. Amen.