Transformed | It's Time to Wake Up

Welcome to REACH KC everybody, it's so great to have you with us, I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in with us. I know a day, that can silence your regrets I know a day, that can empty out your heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I know a day, that can heal your broken heart I love your name, chains break, dry bones cake I love your name, chains break, dry bones cake Every time I call your name, blood, hate, love, end shame Every time I call your name, blood, hate, love, end shame Every time I call your name Your name runs through my veins Your name leads my heart Your name leads my soul Your name runs through my veins Your name leads my heart Your name runs through my veins Your name runs through my heart Well, all that is now is feeling Well, all praise Your name, Your name Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus I call You Jesus, I call You, I call You Jesus Ringing, ringing in my heart Something comes out of the grave Every time I call You Jesus ♪ Jesus, I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Holy, I call you forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪

♪ Every time I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you leader ♪ ♪ Risen and reigning in power, something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy, I call you forever, something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you leader ♪ ♪ Jesus, I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you leader ♪ I just want to welcome you in this place Lord. We ask for more of you to fill us with your fire. Fill us with fresh one right now, in Jesus name. ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Come rest on us ♪ ♪ As the spirit was moving over the waters here come the bower of God's army, come rest on us, come rest on us. ♪ As the spirit was moving over the waters here come the bower of God's army, come rest on us, come rest on us. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪♪ ♪ As the spirit was moving over the waters here come the bower of God's army, come rest on us, come rest on us. ♪ As the spirit was moving over the waters here come the bower of God's army, come rest on us, come rest on us. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪ It's what you do Lord. ♪♪ ♪ Fire and wind come and do it again, open up the gates let heaven on in, come rest on us, come rest on us. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪ Come now, spirit when you move you make my heart pound, when you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving, I'm here and I know you will fill me. ♪ Holy Spirit come rest on us, you're all we want, you're all we want. ♪ Holy Spirit come rest on us, you're all we want, you're all we want. ♪ Holy Spirit come rest on us, you're all we want, you're all we want. ♪ Spirit calm this silence. You're all we want. You're all we want. ♪ Calm down. Spirit when you move, you make my heart pound.

♪ When you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving. ♪ I'm here and I know you will be. ♪ Calm down. Spirit when you move, you make my heart pound. ♪ When you fill the room, you're here and I know you are moving. ♪ I'm here and I know you will be. ♪ ♪ So far away, come and do it again. Open up the gates of heaven on earth. ♪ Come rest on us. Come rest on us. ♪ ♪ ♪ Who thought I'd find you at the lowest place? Who thought you'd feel me in the crowd? ♪ Who knew you'd make good up my mistakes? You're nothing like I thought you were. You're better. ♪ What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. Oh. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. I thought you'd show up for perfection. Cause what kind of God looks for the lost? They say it's over for a sinner, over accusing. No it's not, no it's not. Sing that again. I thought you'd show up for perfection. Cause what kind of God looks for the lost? They say it's over for a sinner, over accusing. No it's not, no it's not. You say, No it's not, no it's not. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. If one word is the only thing you need Then I've heard it all with a feeling in my heart I never see your name I still have it all Your treasured love inside Could never satisfy You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything

What a God, what a God What a God, what a God What a God, what a God What a God, what a God Yeah What a God, what a God What a God, what a God You're the highest place I've reached in my life And I've done it all The best thing that I've seen is your glory And I've seen it all Your love has saved my life Forever satisfied You are my everything You're the highest place I've reached is at your feet And I've done it all The best thing that I've seen is your glory And I've seen it all Your love has saved my life Forever satisfied You are my everything If one word is the only thing you see Then I've heard it all If I feel your heart and never see your name I still have it all Your treasure of desire Forever satisfied You are my everything If one word is the only thing you see Then I've heard it all

If I feel your heart and never see your name I still have it all Your treasure of desire Forever satisfied You are my everything Yes you are You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything God, you are enough. Amen! God, you are enough. If we never felt your hand, God, remove it and we still have everything that we need. If all that I heard was one word from you, God, I've heard enough. If all that I've seen is your glory, God, I've seen it all. Because as a church and a body of believers, we are at a place here, Lord, where we are seeking your face, God. Because you are enough. You are our everything. You are not just something. You are not just a portion, but you are everything in our life. You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything

You are my everything You are my everything! Aleluya! Aleluya! Aleluya! Aleluya! Lord, we feel you right now. Lord, we welcome you here in this place. Would you meet us here, God? We thank you, Lord. We praise you, God. We lift you up. And if you receive that, can you raise your hand and give a mighty amen? Let's give Him some praise in the house! Amen, amen, amen. Grab your seat. Say hello to your neighbor. Tell them welcome, welcome, welcome. I can't even lie to you. It's really hard to transition from moments like that. Like, how do you just... How do you just get off into something else? You know? How many of us are grateful and excited to be here this morning? We want to tell you we want to say welcome home because when we say welcome home, we mean that you are actually home.

We mean that this is a place for you to come in just as you are to the first-time guest that is just walking through these doors for the first time. You are not here by happenstance. And you have been prayed for diligently. That invite that was sent to you was not a coincidence. But you are here for a reason, and we pray that in this gathering at some point in time, you have just an inkling in your spirit, like a pull in your spirit that says, man, this is for me. And that you would start to receive that through the proclamation of the word or through worshiping in the spirit, that it would not just be entertainment for you, but it would be something that would radically impact your life, that you would grow in relationship with the Father. Amen? To all the ones that are watching on Pando in a prison cell right now, we welcome you. We love you. You are seen and you are heard. You are not forgotten about. And for everybody else, welcome home. You know, the home itself,

it's exciting to think about, I said there is an expansion of that home. I got half the people, quarter of them excited. But I may just be hyped up myself because the pastor took me to the church this week and I hadn't been there in a month or two. And I got to walk through and I got to see a live rendition of what we saw on the video a few weeks ago. And man, I thought to myself, how beautiful of an opportunity is this to be growing in that. And growing in that for what reason? And we look in the scripture and we say in Matthew, and this is in chapter 9, Jesus is teaching the gospel in verse 35 and Jesus is traveling through all of the towns and villages of that area. He is teaching in the synagogues and he is announcing the good news. about the kingdom and he healed every kind of disease and illness and when he saw the crowds what did he see when he saw the crowds he what he had compassion on them because they were confused and they were helpless like a sheep without a shepherd and I don't know how many of us drive through these neighborhoods or go into our work environments and see it or deal with children and see it or see the brokenness of this world and I wonder how many of us have that same compassion that Jesus had when he dealt with the brokenness of this world and he told his disciples as he was filled with this compassion he said this he said the harvest is great but the workers are few so pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest and ask him to do what man send more workers into his fields I

cannot remind you church of who the workers are raise your hand if you're a worker hey man sign me up hey sign me up I want to work I'm not working right here standing here on a stage I'm working when I'm going into a customer's home and I'm doing good work that honors them and bring it and bringing glory to God as I wear a cross around my neck I'm doing good work as I go into the street and I move with compassion on a situation and I earnestly pray for that person instead of telling them I will pray for them this is work because there is a harvest and there are people out there that are lost and there are people out there are confused and the mission statement for this church is that we will reach the one that is far from God and help them become a passionate follower of Jesus and can I tell you that that one may not look like me or you there was no stereotype for what that one looks like hey these they don't even know what I told Adam I said Catherine is a rock star in my heart but when she steps into this new home you ain't even gonna know the type of stage I mean this is a rock star stage but can I tell you that it's gonna take an environment like that for some of those ones it will and they will walk in there and they will feel the presence of God and there will be seats there and when I talk about seats they are not just a chair an object with a moral being with no heart but that seat is there because that seat there will be a soul that sits in it and that soul has the opportunity to walk into the house of God and it is the workers and then God's work that brings the harvest in their hearts it is the one that is sitting next to them as they are stirred by the Spirit during worship and they have an altar call and their hand goes up like this but gets put back down because fear instantly comes because the ground is rocky and the enemy wants to instantly take it but it is the worker that is sitting next to them in that seat that says let me take you there let me walk you down to that altar because I saw that spirit urging you it is the workers that are doing it as we go into this next season as a church family let me tell you that it's gonna take the workers to bring the harvest and it's gonna take earnestly praying for it and as we have an adopted chair it is not

just a chair I want to call it adopt a soul because it is a soul that's gonna sit there and I want to ask this church I want to ask us as we think about adopting a chair and we think about that chair that we know raise your hand if you know one person you wish to become the Christ right now man there's not a soul in this room that doesn't know somebody like that so it's something else to do things because here's what moves God what moves God is prayer and faithful prayer he's moved by nothing else the foxhole prayers to send them up the contingency prayers does not move him what moves him is faith so I'm asking as a church as we give we give an abundance for another chair and not associate that chair with a $50 for that chair but you associate that chair with a soul and you put a name on that giving so when you go in there and give it you're not giving it away for a chair you're giving it away for that one person man that one that you want to see come to Christ in an act of obedience and in faith and if I could get some ushers up here God we thank you so much for what you were doing when we look in the rear view of our life I can see you I can see you now and I can see you moving God you're doing the math in our life you're doing the adding you're doing the subtracting you're doing the multiplying and you do not divide you are a good God and we are praying over the one right now that as we give to God we were praying over their heart we were praying over their soul and we are praying over their salvation in the name of Jesus so as we give God we ask that you bless the gift you bless the recipient in Jesus mighty name amen the transformation of the heart was never to be kept to ourselves we are transformed so that we can serve and love others well we can sit in rows in worship with our hands up and very easily we can find ourselves retreating back to that isolation one could say that the resistance through community is where our faith and our fellowship builds and better yet where it grows with people that love you where you are known and you are cared for and you are celebrated and all of this is because we were not designed to do this alone no

fire burns alone by itself but it continues to burn along with others and in your homes and through laughter through tears through food and fellowship is where we will continue to lift one another up encourage one another in faith hold each other accountable and grow not through just rows but in circles of your homes welcome to growth groups come on how many of us are excited for that I literally was having a conversation with somebody the other day and they said something about since we don't offer midweek services and I said we don't need to because now we offer growth groups come on somebody come on somebody that's that's exciting that's it that's the ability to be able to do that you can go in your church app right now if you don't have the app you can scan that QR code right there it will allow you to sign up you can see who's having groups what day of the week they're having them man I would encourage you to do that because like he said it don't happen in rows it happens in circles and so real-life discipleship happens in the context of community and so we want to get you connected and plugged in and be a part of that and speaking of growth groups one of the things I want to do come up here real quick with me talk one of the things I want to do how many of us know brother Tucker does any of us know no talk no I don't need you say anything I just want this right here is our growth group coordinator a man can we give it up for Tucker so he's raising up and developing all of the growth group leaders and so it's gonna be phenomenal it's gonna be a great moment so I just wanted to give you a shout out brother love you man and so yeah come on let's give it up for Tucker one time can we do that show him some honor show him some love and so he's he's helping train and and get the growth group leaders developed and just being able to offer something that is consistent all the way across the board because we do family is important to us we have a core value we will fight for our tribe and we said tribe originally because we know that family can be a get a bad connotation sometimes to people because family might not always have been what some of us have had a man but everybody needs a tribe a man and so come get connected be a part of that you

can get signed up for that today well hey we are in a series that is titled transformed and we're looking at the last part of the book of Romans and so we're in this and I've titled it transformed because Paul kind of shifts his focus from application of getting saved to what it really looks like to walk out that salvation and being transformed and so we're looking at discipleship through real community discipleship through real community if you're taking notes which I encourage you to do I have a sermon today that is titled a wake-up call a wake-up call and if we had like a bullhorn right there would have been the perfect place to sound that bullhorn because there is an alarm that needs to be sounded. Now just imagine for just a moment that you were asleep, right? Like I'm talking like deep sleep. You know, the one where you're having crazy dreams and you're comfortable, you're snuggled in your blankies and you're warm, you're completely unaware of what's going on around you and then suddenly your phone explodes with that sound. Now I'm not talking a text, not a phone call, but that piercing government level emergency tone. You know what I'm talking about? That kind of noise that somehow explodes and overrides the technological database of DBs of which you hear and you just can't ignore that sound. The sound that all of the sudden means something serious is happening. There's a tornado taking place. There's a flood that's going on. There's some sort of immediate danger. And when you hear that sound, it's not one of those sounds that you just roll over and say, I'll deal with that tomorrow. I'll hit the snooze on that. No, it's a sound that they have had come piercing

through every electronic device in the world so that it can say, hey, something serious needs your attention right now. And you sit up, you move, you act. Well, let me tell you, Church, Romans 13 is that sound. Romans 13 is literally that sound. Paul says the hour has come for you to wake up from your sleep, Church. He said the time has come for you to wake up. Paul isn't gently nudging us. He's sounding as an alert. He's sounding this alert, but spiritual sleep is absolutely dangerous and I believe has crept in to the American church because of comfortability. And I don't know if you know this, but you can be breathing and still drifting. You can be breathing. You can be attending and still spiritually asleep. You can be spiritually dead and still be attending church. You can be believing but not urgently responding. Did you know believing in God is not enough? The Bible says that even the demons believed. So how are we separating ourselves? Because if belief doesn't actually transform into conduct or action, then we have done nothing but actually lay something aside. And Paul says the night is far gone. The day is at hand, meaning, hey, history is moving. Christ is returning and the time now is not to be a static church. It's a season to not be casual, to not have this lackadaisical approach. This is not the moment to delay repentance. That's just not what it is. This is not the hour to remain numb. This is the time, as Paul says and we'll see in a moment, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wake up from the compromise. Wake up from the spiritual apathy and the isolation that people have driven into society stronger now since COVID than ever where people isolate and they go to an online church and they believe no offense against the people that are watching online, but we need community. We need people. We need people to hold us accountable, to spur us on. This isn't a time to get caught up in some senseless vain spiritual pursuit. I've had people say, well, I'm on a spiritual journey. Well, where are you going? Because some of these spiritual journeys is like polygamous and all these other things. No, that's not a spiritual journey. That's a self-driven product of what society is giving us. But when the alert sounds, it's not meant to annoy you. It's meant to alarm you. It's meant to save you. And the most dangerous response that you could have is to silence it or act like we don't hear it. Because what happens if your phone goes off in the middle of the night and you say, eh, I'll deal with it later because you thought it was one of the million amber alert things that came off for somebody in a completely different state that you had nothing to do with, but it was actually a tornado that was getting ready to rip through your house. See, then all of a sudden, it's different. And the Bible has been predicting these moments for thousands of years. But all of a sudden, sold-out believers are acting in ways that are dishonorable to the systems that have been set in place by God.

By God. That's the thing. honor God or not, whether people honor God or not should not determine whether we honor them. That should not dictate what we are doing. We are called to be ambassadors of the one true king. We carry a mantle that God has placed on our shoulders when we became saved and you have one job, that's being an ambassador for the kingdom. This shouldn't be something that is surprising to us, alarming yes, but not surprising, but only because it's a sound to wake us up, not annoy us. And so today I want to look at four practical steps, right, to respond to a spiritual wake-up call. Because I know some of us is like, well how do I wake up? I'm not even going to interject what my mind just said there. See you have to have a filter, that should be first step, but it's not. But the first, thank you, thank you, I appreciate that. The first practical step is understanding authority. I know, I know, I knew I was going to get that response. Romans 13 one through two, everyone, now let me hold you, hold on, let me, is Romans in the Bible? Okay, so when Paul is writing the book of Romans, it's actually in scripture, right? And it's inerrant, that means there's no fallible part in that book, right? If scripture is scripture, there is no errors, right? Okay, all right, just wanted to lay that foundation. Romans 13 one through two, the book that is in the Bible, y'all just said it, I didn't even say it, y'all said it. Everyone, see that's why, hey, you hear me halfway through it and people start getting quiet, they was like, yeah, he's setting us up for an alley-oop here, I already know what's happening. It says, everyone must submit to governing authorities, my God, my God, hold up, for all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they shall be punished. Now, that's not just talking about going to prison, okay, this is something that's a little bit deeper. Imagine you're driving through the city at 2 a.m., you should not be driving through the city at 2 a.m., first of all, okay, but let's imagine that you are, okay, sober, okay, let's imagine you're driving through the city at 2 a.m., sober, because you just got off at work at 1 30, okay, let me lay the foundation a little bit clearer, and there's no cars, right, because ain't nobody out at 2 a.m. that's doing anything productive, right, there's no police, nobody's even around, and you pull up to a red light. Now, technically, you could run it, come on, we know, we know, we've seen, we've seen this

behavior. Now, technically, we would run, nobody would even know that you ran that red light, honestly, no one would even stop you, because you've already prematurely checked all of your mirrors, you know you have, because I have, I still do, and if that light is longer for than what time period I have placed on it that it should be, then I'm really contemplating it, and if I want to be as legal as possible, I'll back up and take a right turn, you know what I'm saying, I'll do the best way possible of it, but you don't stop at the red light because of the police, you stop at the red light because the system you trust has order, it keeps order, traffic lights don't exist because every driver is bad, they exist because chaos is worse, you know what I'm saying, just because there's a red light don't mean your driving is terrible, and Romans 13 1 through 2 reminds us that authority is not about perfection, but it's about order. It's not about perfection, it's about order. If everyone decided which laws to obey based on preference, not principle, guess what happens? Society collapses. If we got to choose which ones we did, submission isn't about agreeing with every decision, even in church leadership. Submission to authority isn't about agreeing with every decision that's made, submission is about recognizing that God has establishes structure to prevent chaos. That's what submission is. Rebellion can feel powerful in the moment, but that's actually our pride giving us a false sense of security, trying to get us to believe that if we had things another way that things would be better. But that's not always the case. Why do you think every time something don't go your way and something seems to go wrong, you're ready to bail out? Because anytimes there are decisions that are made that you don't agree with, your pride wells up and it's masked as humility. And then you want to jump ship.

But did you know that actually, that actually reflects a deeper personal issue for you? A deep-seated problem with authority? That's why nothing has worked out in our favor anytime we try to buck the system that God has set in place. Because he says, you shall be punished. You've tried pushing and kicking your way to the top of the authority chain, and then whenever you run into someone that won't budge, we blame shift and start to gossip and try to tear down everybody else's opinion of that person in authority that held you accountable. Well, if they wouldn't have... How many people have went to jail? This is me, okay? Now, how many people have went to jail and blamed it on the person that snitched them out? Even though I did what they told on me that I did. But it was their fault somehow. I was slinging dope, you know, pulling up to drop off two zips to this dude. He pulled the police up to me and they picked me up. But if Junior wouldn't have snitched on me, I was... Come on, man. That just doesn't even make sense. Did you know, per the Bible, blame shifting and putting and gossip and all of that is actually you participating in witchcraft? Nobody does.

Nobody does. He said, I don't wanna hear this. I know! That's why I came to preach it. Nobody wants to hear it. Because when we begin to blame shift, when we push everything off, when we get behind other people and we disarm and dismantle leadership that God has set in place, whether it's government authorities, whether it's church authorities, whether it's the structure in your home. Why do you think the Bible says to honor your mother and father? Because there is a system of honoring leadership that God has instilled in the family that carries on over into other structures and yet when we shift blame, when we gossip, when we slander, when we don't do... It's the whispering of the serpent. It's the lies that we get because pride wells up and we don't like it. Hear me, church. Widespread rebellion produces disorder. This is how I know that blame shifting and division and doing all these things that try to turn people against this or turn people against that,

no matter what it is. You can interject a political party there. You can interject a parent there. You can interject a church denomination. You can interject anything. When we do something that makes people rebel against an order that God set in place, whether it's godly or not, it's this, 1 Corinthians 14, 33. For God is not a god of disorder, but of peace. So that means if anything that we are doing is creating disorder within a function or institute that God has established, we're producing something that is ungodly and we can never say that God told us to do it. But yet so many people leave churches. They tear down leadership. They claim public social media ministries when they can't even stand the conduct of what leadership requires and that's why they was held accountable. That's why people got social media ministries. Because they don't like church leadership because there's accountability for their actions. That's why people can do whatever they wanna do. That's why I don't suggest to just go follow people that are on social media platforms because who are they accountable to? Who is holding them accountable to where they're at

and yet you are believing the revelation that they've given you deeper than what you've sought out in scripture yourself. And then we get into this and then we say, hey, but we don't even know what. Conduct they have in their private life. I'm sorry, but I need to know who is investing in my life so that I'm not easily Usurped and moved towards a different a different direction that God never told me to go to Here me church. You don't submit because authority is flawless you submit because God is sovereign You don't submit because the system is perfect you submit because God is God is perfect and all authority is established by God Even when it's exercised by imperfect people Order is God's design Disorder is not Misalignment is not Rebellion against order is rebellion against God's design When we rebel against a system that is set in place to keep order God values order Because he values people Authority restrains what sin would release Think about it if there was no authority in place It'd be like freaking Resident Evil 10. I Mean we'd be higher. I mean awesome I mean we'd be higher. I mean awesome Grand Theft Auto 89, you know what? I mean? Like we would be I mean it would be crazy and submission reveals check this Who you really believe is in control? Your submission Reveals I get it. Some things just don't seem like justice. I understand But ask Daniel how he felt when Nebuchadnezzar tried to turn their nation and their nation into a godless society Go back and read the book of Daniel and see how Daniel handled himself when Nebuchadnezzar

One of the cruelest rulers of all time way worse than our Democrat our democracy Should I say not Democrat but our democracy? Because we blame we blame Republicans we blame Democrats we blame independence We blame everybody but go way back before there was even a political party and check out Nebuchadnezzar See what he did and then watch how Daniel responded Because never did he make a social media post. I Know they didn't have social media. But what if they did? Daniel would have had a tick-tock channel talking about They had tablets that's you sure, right But he didn't act in ways that dishonored God in fact He submitted to the ungodly authority while honoring God with his entire life The only thing that he did not do was submit to something that was not his Did not do was submit to something that was ungodly That's why he declared a fast. That's why we have what's known as a Daniel fast today because he said hey My lord has called me to fast. I cannot eat that food and then they said oh, yeah And he said I'll be stronger than your guys will even eating a full diet and then tested He said bet and then all of the sudden he declared a fast that allowed him to be in alignment while at without bucking the system that he was underneath of Structure protects what chaos would destroy That's that's what it is. Did you know that our trust in God is proven by how we respond to authority? Pride resist authority faith respects it You can disagree without dishonoring Honor doesn't require agreement. If you only submit when you agree, that's not submission. That's defiance But why'd I come to church today I Know And so we got to ask ourself what if people are watching how we respond to everything So they can see if the faith that we proclaim is what they want Because did you know the way that we respond to every situation in society the way that we respond to every situation in the church Is actually what people are looking at and we could have turned more people away from Christ than we've actually ever turned to Christ And we've never even witnessed to them at all

And we say well, I just God has called me to be this. No God has called us to be ambassadors of the king and You only preach the gospel when necessary Because your life is the gospel It says preach the gospel at all times but use words when necessary Because what we're living out should be that at the second practical step is understanding restraints are godly guardrails restraints are godly guardrails look at Romans 13 remember the book that was in the Bible for the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right but in those who are doing wrong would you like to live without the fear of the authorities would you yes see nobody they're like I ain't messing with you they ain't on me yeah they they gone bro they're like hurry up get done you know it says do what is right and they will honor you the authorities are God's servant sent for your good but if you are doing wrong of course you should be afraid for they have the power to punish you they are God's servant sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong so you must submit to them not only to avoid punishment but also to keep a clear conscience have you ever noticed how God designed rivers to carry life like if if you go back water nourishes fields any place though there's actually a place and in Israel area where they call the fertile crescent and it's because it was a place that produced lusciously because there was water banks that went through their water sit that the the rivers sustained cities I mean it brings movement and power you can trace a river almost back to every major city but a river without banks doesn't become more powerful it actually becomes a flood it destroys homes right it erodes foundations unchanneled it can bring disorder instead of life to everywhere where it goes the banks don't exist to restrict the river they exist to direct it they're not there to confine it for no other reason but to direct it and authority is like river banks to our society but because of sin human nature doesn't just drift it overflows amen it is flooding and left unchecked selfishness turns to injustice

power turns to oppression and desires turn into harm so God in his mercy establishes structure of restraint not because he delights in control but he delights in justice see Romans 13 says rulers are God's servant for your good authority is one of the ways that God limits the spread of an evil fallen world it doesn't just save the soul but it slows the damage it slows down the chaos why so that the church can have time to go and tell the world about Jesus and in our Savior restraint is not the opposite of freedom restraint actually makes freedom possible because if we was unrestrained and we had no authority no system set in place could you imagine what society would look like people talk about defunding the police and getting them out it would be mayhem it would be okay I don't care if they're right wrong or indifferent whatever I'm not I'm not politicking for one of those I'm saying is what if we didn't have any system set in place you think it's bad in the inner city now it would be bad in the suburbs you wouldn't be able to live in Overland Park and not be getting jet boy you hear me like they would be pulling up on you like BAM get out pow you don't like it no restraints whatsoever I mean there would be you and I mean it would be a dog-eat-dog world and without justice there is no peace without order there is no flourishing God's design for authority isn't domination it's preservation if your heart is aligned authority is not intimidating do I still have conditions in my body if I get police behind me I'm like is there a bag of dope in here somewhere yes and I'm 20 years removed and I'm like who did I have in my car did they drop something in the door panel did they you know I'm saying like I that's why I ain't getting nobody a ride you know I'm saying like you need a ride you sit in the back of the truck you know I'm saying like no way no I'm just kidding but you know I mean there Romans 13 says that governing authorities are God's servant for your good They're not ultimate. They're temporary. They are but shadows of something greater that is coming. Every earthly judge is a dim reflection of a perfect judge, whether they're pushing the wrong agenda or not, right?

I mean, whether they are pushing the wrong agenda. Every law points to a higher law. Every system of justice whispers that we long for real justice. And the reason that justice matters so much is because God is just. He is a just God. The reason authority exists is because Christ is King. Earthly authority restrains evil, but only Jesus can remove it. Amen? Earthly rulers punish wrongdoing, but Christ bore the punishment Himself. The cross is where justice and mercy meet. God didn't ignore sin. He judged it in His Son, in Christ Jesus. It is there. He didn't ignore it. And one day, guess what? The true King will return. Not temporarily, not partially, but perfectly. He is coming back, and He is coming for His church. People say, well, only God could judge me. Well, that should scare you. Because He's coming with that throne, with that purpose. And until then, earthly authority is God's mercy to limit chaos. But our ultimate allegiance, our deepest submission belongs to the King. Amen? Nobody can get us to do, I don't care what they say, if they're going to make me denounce Jesus, you've got to cut my head off. You've just got to, it is what it is. I'm going to lead my family in such a way that we will honor God with nothing but that. But Jesus doesn't just manage evil, He will end it in His time. But until then, submission reflects our trust in God, not approval of leaders. So just because we submit doesn't mean we approve of everything that somebody is doing. It just means that our trust is actually in God because we understand what He is doing. The third practical step is fixing a broken scoreboard.

Fixing a broken scoreboard, Romans 13, 6-10, pay your taxes. Listen, Paul, you know what I'm saying? For these same reasons, for government workers need to be paid, but we complain. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them. Pay your taxes and government fees so that those who collect them and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. Owe nothing to anyone except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. For the commandments say you must not commit adultery, you must not commit murder, you must not steal, you must not covet. These and other such commandments are summed up in one commandment. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of the law. Isn't it crazy how it goes to submitting to government authorities and then all of a sudden it says pay your taxes. Owe nobody nothing. Don't steal, don't cheat, don't do none of this. Now imagine a neighborhood where everyone pays their bills. Like that's the high rent district. Where everybody respects the law, everybody keeps their yards cleaned up. Ain't got broke down cars in their driveways. Everybody drives safely and looks out for each other's kids. And the neighborhood appears safe and ordered and stable. Now imagine something more where when someone is sick, meals just show up at the door. When someone loses a job, people rally around them. When someone's grieving, nobody's walking alone. When someone messes up, they're corrected but not crushed. They're held accountable.

Now it's not just orderly but it's actually beautiful. And it looks like what the body of Christ is supposed to actually look like. And the first neighborhood actually obeys the rules but the second one loves. See it's one thing to just abide by authority, but it's another thing to actually go above and beyond and actually love on some of these things. In other words, you can fulfill your civic duty and still miss the heart of God. Because we're worried about conduct. from your neighbor, but love says, help your neighbor. Love your neighbor. The law says, hey, don't harm, but love says, I will actively seek your good. See, the law creates boundaries while love builds bridges. And it's interesting to me because a society can survive on law, but flourishes on love. Why do you think the church should be so attractive? Because not only are we abiding citizens, but we actually display something that is here. And that's why Paul turns from a discussion of authority to actually address relationships with others. The primary ethic that should govern all Christian relationships is love. Every single relationship, and here Paul cites the Old Testament law to underscore how acting in love fulfills the true intent of the law. His comments reflect Jesus's teaching about love. And in a selfless society driven by pride, Paul states we don't need more militias. We don't need more hate wrapped in Christian lingo.

Come on, somebody. We need more Christians standing up and loving people. The days are not growing longer. They're actually running shorter. That's why Paul transitions from governing authorities to what should govern God's people. I'm so tired of seeing mean Christians, people that are so many people, Christians say they're Christians and they hate God's people. It don't matter what political party you are. We've got Democrats that hate Republicans. We've got Republicans that hate Democrats, and yet we will put a facade on and say that we're Christian. Oh, you're black? Oh, I don't like you. Oh, you're white? Oh, I don't like you. Oh, you're Chinese? Oh, I don't like you. But yet we've got all of this division. How is that godly in any capacity? Did you know that when the body of Christ is this, that we can come and we're actually drawing people together? This is what it's supposed to be. Nobody is attracted to a religion that doesn't live out what it's claimed to be. Did you know, hear me, if you are a Christian,

but don't actually love your neighbor, all you do is identify as a Christian. You wanna talk about an identification culture, you can identify as a kitty cat and the school will bring you a litter box. That's true, it's crazy. That's a fact. Yes, it is. Happened in Blue Springs School District. Suburbs aren't always the best. Sometimes they're the most confused. But yet in that culture, so many people in the body of Christ identify as a Christian because they have no action. All they've got is lip service. And they're talking about what they really are when really nothing lines up with what they're saying. And we act in one way, but love for people is actually what they see as love for Christ. And that's why Paul makes this decision because the days are growing thin and we have one job, make disciples. I don't know if anybody's been watching the news, but America has partnered with Israel to bomb Iran. There are many Bible scholars that are saying that it's prophecy, that it's coming from some of the biblical prophecies of an end time. I'm not here to debate eschatological approaches

is what I'm here to say is it doesn't matter what eschatological approach you take, Jesus is returning at some point in time and we better be ready when he comes because if you're not, we can't identify as a Christian, we've got to be one. We've got to be one deep down in our heart. And here's my final point is lace up your boots. You better lace up your boots because Paul goes right into verse 11 and he says, this is all more urgent for you know how late it is, time is running out. Wake up, wake up for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. He said, the night is almost gone, the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove the dark deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining armor of right living because we belong to the devil. we must live decent lives for all to see don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity and a moral living or in quarreling and jealousy bickering and fighting instead close yourself clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself think about things to indulge your evil desires I don't know about you but have you ever been to an airport right where you're sitting at the gate and your flights coming you know it's coming and and and you're just sitting there you know the time that your flight is scheduled to depart and you're you're scrolling come on somebody you got your air pods in you know you're scrolling you're you're watching reels and you're laughing and giggling you're comfortable but you're distracted and then the announcement comes final boarding call

gate 31 you're like hold on I'm at gate 31 oh shoot and then you realize it's not first call come on it's not second call they done went through six boarding groups and now all of a sudden you at last call come on we know about last call don't we but all of a sudden if you ever see this the room changes I'm talking people are bumping into people people who were relaxed now all of a sudden suddenly move conversations and they're like hold up we'll talk about that later boom they are all of a sudden on their way phones go in pockets bags get picked up I mean people are dropping stuff they're trying to get their air pods as they're putting their air I mean everything shifts because when you realize the window is closing urgency becomes comfort the moment to hurry up becomes comfort and Paul says in Romans 13 the hour has come to wake from your sleep final boarding call gate 31 gate 5 4 4 5 East 29th Street final boarding call you're about to miss your flight Paul is saying hey this is not early in the story it's late the far the night is far gone and the day is at hand history is not drifting society is not drifting it's moving towards a day a real day we've not gotten so far away from the gospel we're actually getting closer to it because even though society looks like it's going to hell in a handbasket the reality is many people will final boarding call 831 and here's the weight of all of this you don't get infinite time to reconcile that's a fact you don't get forever to surrender your pride you just don't that's just not what happens there is a final boarding call coming to church and coming to the church and Paul says put on the Lord Jesus Christ not later not when it's convenient but right now he said it's time take off your old life lay down the scoreboard lay down what it is and step back into the fire that you had in your life and and get back because eternity is not theoretical it's a reality and the King is coming and you'll wish that one day the final call sounds and you don't wish that you it would be more comfortable you'll wish you was ready personally now is the time for the church to rise up for the body of Christ to rise up and be an effective witness for Jesus we have no greater task than

to spend the rest of our days in the presence of our God we chase so many vain pursuits that we lose sight of what it's really about and the Lord spoke to John in Revelation in the book of Revelation to one of the churches and told him hey I need you to return to your first love says hey you've gotten comfortable and you've drifted away from what it's really about hear me church the Lord is saying return to me today get back to your first love that love and passion and zeal that you had when you very first encountered God he says return to me church come back to what it's really all about and get rid of the resistance and the rebellion and the sin and return to me because I believe that this room is full of people today that need to submit to the authority of Jesus surrender their lives did you know that all authority starts with God all authority starts with God let's start over let's return to our first love today a man if I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment hi thanks for watching us we're so grateful that you've been a part of our church we don't take it lightly that God is using unlikely people from overlooked places to do extraordinary things for the kingdom of God and you are a part of that