Romans 1:8-15 "Wanted: Spiritual Producers"

1:10Six years after that, in 2040, one out of five Americans will be over the age of 65. You probably know that the birth rate has been declining for years, and on top of that, the largest generation in American history, the baby boomers, have almost All reached retirement age. And those things have economists very concerned. Because soon we're going to have more old people than young people in the United States, which means fewer people in the workforce, which means less production and a smaller tax base to take care of all of those aging people. In other words, for the first time in American history, we are about to have more consumers than producers.

2:03That's a problem. And it is a problem that churches have been dealing with for a long time. Especially in America, many churches have more spiritual consumers than spiritual producers. And what I mean is this: many professing Christians do not come to a church asking the questions: what can I offer this body of believers? How can I make a meaningful contribution to the saints here? What spiritual gifts can I give and use in this body of Christ?

2:45Instead, many professing Christians, especially in America, come to a church asking, what can this church offer to me? Now, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that we should never receive from a church. That we should not ever be spiritual consumers. We have to do that in order to be healthy. But what I am saying is that we need to pursue faithfulness and balance. That many of us need to be challenged to become spiritual producers as well as spiritual consumers. We should give and receive, we should produce and consume.

3:26And so today in Romans 1, we're going to be challenged by the Apostle Paul, his teaching, his example, his lifestyle, to be spiritual producers who pray, encourage, and evangelize. So let's take a look here at the text in verse 8. Paul writes, First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. Now, we see here right off the bat, spiritual producers pray. Paul was a spiritual producer, and Paul was a man of prayer.

4:06He shows us in these verses that spiritual producers pray with thankful hearts, and they pray without ceasing. First, spiritual producers pray with thankful hearts. We pray with thankful hearts, brothers and sisters, because it is a miracle that we can pray at all. When we pray, we are speaking to the God of the universe. The one who created us, the one who sustains us, and the one who sent his only begotten Son, Jesus, to rescue us from the power and the penalty of our sin.

4:44You see that there in verse 8. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. Through Jesus Christ. You and I cannot approach an awesome, holy, perfect God on our own. We must have a mediator, someone to stand in the gap in that infinite chasm created by our sin between us and God. And thankfully, friends, God has provided the exact mediator that we need. Look on the screen at 1 Timothy 2. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus.

5:34Look at Hebrews 4. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Spiritual producers pray. With thankful hearts, because it is a wonder that we can pray to God at all.

6:05It is only through Jesus Christ, our mediator, that we can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence. And friends, we pray with thankful hearts because it is a privilege to pray for other Christians. Remember, Paul had never met these believers in Rome before. And yet, look what he says in verse 10. He says that he always mentions them in his prayers, asking that somehow, by God's will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

6:41He had never met these people, and yet Paul prayed for them because he considered it a privilege to pray for these brothers and sisters. It is a privilege to be able to talk to the God of the universe, our Heavenly Father, on behalf of other believers in Christ. Now, surely you've had this experience before. Somebody comes to you with a problem, a financial problem, a medical problem, a family problem, a work problem, some kind of problem, and you really want to help. But there seems to be nothing that you can do. You feel helpless in the situation.

7:22But friends, there is something you can do. You can talk to the God of the universe on their behalf. You can tell them, I can't help you, but my Father in heaven can. Let me talk to him for you. What a privilege that we have to talk to the God of the universe on behalf of others. And so, spiritual producers pray with thankful hearts because it is a miracle that we can pray at all, and because it is a privilege to talk to God on behalf of others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

8:01But, second, spiritual producers pray without ceasing. I want you to look again at verse 9. Paul says, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers. Without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers. This is an example of Paul practicing what he himself preaches. He told the Ephesians to pray at all times in the Spirit. He told the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing.

8:41And by teaching and doing these things, he is simply following the teaching and example of Jesus, who taught us to pray, and who told the parable of the persistent widow in Luke chapter 18, so that we would always pray and not lose heart, not give up in our praying. Pray without ceasing. Now, Paul does not mean that we should do nothing other than pray. Paul did lots of other things in his life besides pray. He is saying, when he says pray without ceasing, that prayer must be woven into the fabric of our lives such that prayer is something that we naturally and regularly turn to every single day throughout the day.

9:28We pray by ourselves. We pray with other people. We pray when we don't see answers. We pray when we don't feel like praying, perhaps especially when we don't feel like praying. But most Christians that I know, myself included, wouldn't say that they find it easy to pray without ceasing. We find it difficult to pray at all, don't we? Whether today is your first Sunday here or you've been coming for some time, I want to give you a few ways that you can grow as a spiritual producer who prays. We try to put a great emphasis on prayer here in New Life. So let me give you a few ways that you can grow as a spiritual producer who prays. First, gather with us on Sundays. Congratulations! You're already doing the first thing. You've probably noticed. That we take prayer very seriously. We pray often throughout our worship service for the things that God has commanded us to pray for. If you do a study of the New Testament and look at all the things we are commanded to pray for, it's a lot. And so we try to be faithful to pray for those things every week. And so by simply showing up to worship, you are praying for the things that God has commanded you to pray for, and you are learning how to pray. You're learning how to pray from pastors and leaders up here who are seeking to set an example for you that is worth imitating. And so join us, gather with us each Sunday. Second, use the prayer guide. If you did not know this, we produce a prayer guide each and every week that we make available on the Church Center app for our members, and then we make printed copies available like this one out in the lobby every single Sunday. Each day of the week, we've got things listed that we are commanded to pray for to aid you in praying. And on the back, there is a section called Other Prayer Requests with a bunch of blank lines so that you can write down those things that people ask you to pray for that you forget to pray for. Let me make a confession to you. We made this for me.

11:53And we just print lots of copies of it so you can use it too. Guys, I am not good at prayer. And until we just acknowledged that Alan is not good at praying and decided to make this sheet, I continued to struggle with prayer. And this has become one of the greatest tools in my life to become a praying person. I would encourage you to pick one of these up and use it in your daily life. Keep it in your Bible and pray. Third, how can you grow as a spiritual producer who prays? Come and pray with us on Wednesday mornings. Now, hear me out. We meet from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Yes, it is super early. No, I'm not going to get here even earlier to brew coffee for you.

12:40But we chose that time because it gives the most people the opportunity to come and pray. By going from 6:30 to 7:30, most people can still make it to work or to class on time afterwards. By going from that time, either mom or dad can stay home, get the kids ready for school, send the other person to the prayer meeting, and then hopefully get back in time to help get the day started. So we chose that time because hopefully most people can participate. It will not work for everybody, but hopefully, it can work for you. So consider joining us this Wednesday, 6:30 a.m. over in the preserve. And then, fourth, ask for prayer. Ask for prayer. Friends, if we want to create a culture of spiritual producers who pray, we've got to ask for prayer. If you read The New Testament, the apostles asked for prayer all the time, especially the Apostle Paul. He asked for prayer all the time in all of his letters. And asking for prayer tells other people this is normal. This is what we do as Christians. We ask for prayer for our efforts in discipleship, our efforts in evangelism. We ask for prayer for things going on in our life and our sin issues. It tells people this is what ordinary Christians do. We ask for prayer and we pray for each other. And the more you ask for prayer, the more people are going to pray. And the more people pray, the more people will ask for prayer. And it develops a culture of prayer in the church. And so, friends, I want to challenge you to ask for prayer. So join us on Sundays. Use the prayer guide. Come on Wednesday mornings and ask for prayer. Spiritual producers pray. They pray with thankful hearts and they pray without ceasing. Now let's look at verses 11 and 12 where we'll see that spiritual producers encourage. Look at verse 11.

14:43For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Many people want to go to Rome. I went there with my family in 1999, before my senior year of high school. Fun fact, actually threw up in the Sistine Chapel. I doubt you know many people who have done that. Anyway, lots of people want to go to Rome. But they want to go as tourists, like I went in 1999. They want to see all the famous sites, especially the ancient ones that would have been there in Paul's day. Things like the Pantheon and the Forum, the Colosseum, and the Circus Maximus.

15:38But you notice here in the verses, that is not why Paul wanted to go to Rome. Look at verse 11 again. He says, For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. So you see, for Paul, this was not a sightseeing trip. It wasn't so he could say that he'd been to the most powerful city on earth. It was all about going to visit the Christians who lived there, believers that he had never met, so that he could impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them. Now, we already saw that spiritual producers pray in verses 8 through 10, but here what we're seeing is that spiritual producers encourage. And we do that by strengthening others with our spiritual gifts. So let me give you two truths about spiritual gifts. First, the Holy Spirit has gifted you.

16:41Yes, you. When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and you are given one or more spiritual gifts. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 12 on the screen. Paul says, now, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. In everyone. There is no such thing as an ungifted Christian. You may not know which gift or gifts that the Lord has given to you, but if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has given to you one or more spiritual gifts.

17:33And if you're in that place where you don't know your spiritual gifts, that's okay. Look at what Paul writes here in verse 11. He simply says, I hope to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen you. Some spiritual gift. Paul doesn't say, I'm hoping to bring you my gift of teaching, my gift as an apostle, I'm hoping to bring you my gift of encouragement. He doesn't tell them what they need. He just says, I'm hoping to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen you.

18:00Paul's faith wasn't in his spiritual gifts. It was in the Lord who gives the gifts that he would use them in this context among people he'd never met before. He didn't want to presume to know how God would use him. And so, friends, if you want to discover your spiritual gifts, learn the needs of the church and start serving. After worship, I encourage you to find one of the pastors or find a Connect team member like Emily wearing one of those name tags and say, What are the needs here at New Life?

18:35Find out how you can start serving. I know that God has gifted you, and you have gifts that we need. Which brings me to the second point: you have been given spiritual gifts to build up the church. You have been given spiritual gifts to build up the church. Look what Paul says in the next verse in that 1 Corinthians 12 passage, verse 7. He says, To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For the common good. Look at Ephesians 4 on the screen. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Listen to this. For building up the body of Christ.

19:26For building up the body of Christ. Your spiritual gifts were given for the common good, for building up the body of Christ. They were not given primarily for your own private enjoyment and edification. They were given for the church. Look what Paul writes later in Romans chapter 12. He says, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them, if prophecy, in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Do you notice that every one of those spiritual gifts involves other people? There are none of those gifts that are listed that you can do alone in your room. They are all given for the common good for building up the body of Christ. So use them, friends.

20:35Listen, I say this to you in love. Some of you have been sitting on the bench for way too long. You've been attending here for months, maybe even years. You might even be a member, but you're not serving. You are not using your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ. And what that means is that. The rest of us are having to get by without a part of the body of Christ. We're missing an eye or an ear. We're missing an arm or a leg. And listen, that can be done. Our wounded warriors do it. People who have been in accidents do it. People who are born with disabilities do it. It can be done.

21:21But it makes everything much harder than it needs to be because you're here and you have the gifts that we need. We need you to serve. And so, friends, I don't want you to feel condemned this morning if you've not been using your gifts, if you've not been serving the body of Christ. I want you to feel challenged. I want you to feel encouraged. I don't want you to feel guilty. But we will grow spiritually, and so will you, when you start using your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ. So spiritual producers encourage. They use their gifts to build up the body and strengthen the body of Christ. But do not miss this.

22:04Spiritual producers also need encouragement. Isn't that what Paul says here? Look again at verses 11 and 12. He says, For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you. Listen to this. That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Paul says that his desire is that they be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. He did not think that because he was an apostle, because he was a mature Christian, because he was a brilliant theologian, that he did not need others in the body of Christ to encourage him.

22:50And for those of us who are leaders in the church, my fellow pastors here at New Life, the deacons, the life group leaders, the staff members here, for anyone who is a leader, let's take this to heart. If the apostle Paul needed encouragement, how much more do we need to receive from other members in the body of Christ? Look what he writes later in the letter, Romans 12. He says, For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

23:48So, friends, none of us should think of ourselves too highly. Others have spiritual gifts that we do not have and we need them. We are just one part of the body. Do you believe that? As a mature Christian, do you believe that? And listen, for those of you who are younger in your faith, for those of you who are less mature, for those of you who feel less gifted than others, I do not want you to think for a moment that you have nothing to offer. That is a lie. That is a lie that Satan has probably been effectively employing in your life for many years. That you have nothing to offer the body of Christ. But you do. None of us is sufficient for the work that he calls us to. Any spiritual good that comes, I mean, this morning, we were praying before we met, the team that meets before to lead worship. We were praying before we met. Everything could go perfectly up here this morning. We could have no microphone issues. That would require a miracle, but we would have no microphone issues. We could have a perfect worship set with the songs. I could preach without losing my place. We could do all of those things, and every one of us could leave without a changed heart and without a changed life.

25:07It is not based on gifting. It is not based on talent or skill or anything else. It is based on the Holy Spirit inside each one of us. That is the only reason that we can provide spiritual good to one another. And friends, you have the Holy Spirit. Every believer has the Holy Spirit. So you do have something to offer. Don't believe the lie that you don't. So, spiritual producers encourage, and that means you, wherever you are in your faith journey, you are needed in the body of Christ.

25:41So far, we've seen that spiritual producers pray, and spiritual producers encourage. And now, finally, we'll see that spiritual producers evangelize. Let's look now at verse 13. Paul says, I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you, but thus far have been prevented, in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

26:27Paul says that he wanted to go to Rome to reap some harvest among you. That is, he wanted to go to Rome to evangelize, to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and to see some people repent and start following Jesus. Paul wanted to evangelize. But before we talk about evangelism, I want to ask you two questions: two questions about evangelism in the vein of spiritual. Harvest. The first question is this. Do you want to reap a harvest?

27:11Do you want to reap a harvest? In other words, do you want to see men and women, boys and girls, come to faith in Jesus Christ and become his disciples? So understand, right now, I'm not asking if you think you should share your faith in Jesus Christ. I'm not asking if you think God commands us to share our faith in Jesus Christ. Right now, I'm asking about your desire about whether you want others to become disciples of Jesus.

27:47Because I think that before we start talking about evangelism, we have to first talk about our desire or potentially our lack of desire to see people come to faith in Jesus. If we're honest, maybe for some of us, we just don't have a strong desire to see others come to faith in Christ. If you're a professing Christian and that's true of you, if you just don't have a strong desire to see others come to faith in Christ, I encourage you to remember who you were, what God has done in your life, and where you are today because of Jesus.

28:26You and I were dead in our trespasses and sins. Alienated from God and without hope in the world. But friends, God sought us and rescued us and transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious, marvelous kingdom of His Son. That is what He has done to us. He's delivered us from death to life, He's given us new hope that springs eternal. So, when we remember that, How could we not want everyone to experience what we have experienced? How could we not want others to start following Jesus? So, we have to begin with the question: do you want?

29:10Do you want to reap a harvest? The second question is this. Do you expect to reap a harvest? Do you expect to reap a harvest? Because here's the thing: I think a lot of us actually do want to reap a harvest. I think a lot of us are faithful. We tell others about Jesus, we share our faith, we share our testimony, we invite them to worship with us, we do that. We pray for people, we talk to them about Jesus. But here's the thing: I think for a lot of us, we don't actually expect anybody to start following Jesus. It's not a question of desire, it's a question of expectation.

29:56Look at this story about Charles Furge. The famous 19th century Baptist preacher, one of the wittiest people who ever lived, a friend of his once came to him, depressed, because for three months of ministry, he had not seen a single conversion. Spurgeon slyly asked, Do you expect the Lord to save souls every time you open your mouth? Embarrassed, the man answered, Oh, no, sir. Then, Spurgeon replied, That is just the reason why you have not had conversions. According to your faith, be it unto you.

30:35Spurgeon's question and reply are undoubtedly tongue-in-cheek, but they are biblical. James says in his letter very clearly that those who pray, while doubting that God will answer their prayers, should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. That is in the Bible. So, friends, do you expect to reap a harvest? I will be the first one to admit that I am just like Spurgeon's friend, faithfully sharing the gospel up here, faithfully sharing the gospel in my personal life, but really, day to day, I don't actually expect any of my extended family to start following Jesus. I don't expect my neighbors to start following Jesus. I don't expect people that I meet in the community to start following Jesus. What do I reason in my head? Well, they would have to give up too much.

31:28They would have to turn away from that sin. They would have to leave that lifestyle. They'd have to make different choices. And just listen to what I'm saying. Are any of us saved because of the things that we did? What are we doing if we didn't have to turn away from everything? Isn't that what Jesus said? That we have to count the cost, that we have to pick up our cross and follow Him, that if we don't forsake everything, we cannot be His disciples. We did it. Why did we do it? Because of the grace of God. And if the grace of God was sufficient for me, if the grace of God was sufficient for you, then, friends, it is sufficient for our neighbors, it is sufficient for our coworkers, our classmates, and friends. It is sufficient. But so often we just don't expect to reap a harvest.

32:16So, now that we've asked those two questions: do you want to reap a harvest? Do you expect to reap a harvest? Let me give you three truths about evangelism. Evangelism is a team sport, evangelism is an obligation, and evangelism is a privilege. First, evangelism is a team sport. Paul said that he hoped to come to Rome to reap some harvest among them, but I want you to think about the situation. You may know that Paul planted the church in Corinth. And I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 3 on the screen. Paul says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Paul started the work there in Corinth. He shared the gospel, saw people. Come to faith and then organize the believers into a functioning church body. He planted. But in Corinth, other people watered, like Apollos, after he was gone. They saw new people come to faith in Christ. They reaped a harvest there in Corinth, and Paul thought that was great. But think about the situation here in Rome. Paul did not plant this church, he didn't water this church. Other people did that. And yet, Paul is saying, I hope to come and reap a harvest. I hope to come and share the gospel and see others come to faith. So, friends, that reminds us that evangelism is a team sport.

33:42You may be the one who plants. You may be the one who harvests. You may be the one who waters. We all play a role. And so I don't want you to get discouraged if God calls you to be the one who plants the seeds, but you never see the harvest. If God calls you to be the one who waters the seeds, but you never see a harvest. I definitely don't want you to be discouraged if you are the person who has to remove the rocks out of the field before the planting and the watering can even be done. I moved a lot of rocks in college.

34:14And 15, 20 years down the road, people that I shared my faith with have now come to faith in Christ. Somebody else reaped that harvest. I didn't even plant. I didn't water. I moved rocks. And so I don't want you to give up hope. Evangelism is a team sport. Second, evangelism is an obligation. Look at verse 14. Paul says, I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. Paul had been saved by Jesus and entrusted with his good news. He did not view evangelism as optional, but as an obligation. Look at what he writes in 2 Corinthians 5. Paul says, All of this, that is the new life that we have in Christ, all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

35:36Brothers and sisters, God has reconciled us to himself, and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation. We are his ambassadors. We work for him. We are charged with taking his message to the world. It's not something that we do if we can get around to it. It is an obligation. But it's not just an obligation. Third, evangelism is a privilege. In the final verse, verse 15, Paul says, So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

36:14You see, he saw evangelism as an obligation, but that doesn't mean he wasn't eager to do it. Many modern people have a hard time understanding how anybody could be eager to fulfill an obligation. You either want to do something or you don't want to do it. And if you don't want to do it, then you shouldn't do it because that wouldn't be authentic. And authenticity is, of course, the highest value. But not according to the Bible. God teaches us that love makes us eager to fulfill our obligations. It is true in friendship. It's true in marriage. It's true in parenting. And it's true in evangelism. As friends, as spouses, as parents, as Christians, we have certain obligations, things that we must do, but love makes us eager to fulfill those obligations. And so understand, evangelism isn't just an obligation. It is the highest privilege that we have on this earth. Telling others the good news of God creating us and then rescuing us from our sin and its consequences. What could be better than that? So, friends, if you haven't been sharing the gospel, Remember that evangelism is a team sport, it is an obligation, and it is a privilege. Pray for opportunities to share your faith with others and plan to take action. Grab some of these invitation cards. These things are awesome. There's a space for your name, your phone number. It's an invitation to come and worship with us this next week. These are out in the lobby.

37:55Invite a friend, a co-worker, a classmate to lunch. Ask them about their faith journey, where they're at. Invite somebody that you know to read the Bible with you. You say, Pastor Allen, that's intimidating. I don't have all the answers. That's fine. It's not a textbook, it's not an encyclopedia. It is the story of what God has done to make us in his image and likeness and then rescue us from the power and penalty of sin. It's not a textbook.

38:29And so we all have different ways of doing evangelism, but one thing is for sure: spiritual producers evangelize. Friends, we've been challenged this morning to be spiritual producers who pray, encourage, and evangelize. And so, if you've listened to this sermon today and you're coming to realize that you have been almost exclusively a spiritual consumer, that might be for one of two reasons. First, you might be a Christian who needs to give Off the bench and into the game. Who needs to stop primarily consuming and also produce. And if that's you, I want to encourage you to take the next step today. Don't leave after worship. Stay for college coffee and conversation. Stay for adult coffee and conversation. Talk to somebody about the ways that you can serve in our church. Visit a life group this week. Register for Explore membership. Decide today that you're going to be a spiritual producer and take whatever next step is for you.

39:37But, friends, maybe the reason that you aren't a spiritual producer, the reasons that you're not praying and encouraging and evangelizing, is that you aren't yet a Christian. And there is no shame in admitting that. When I came to Texas AM as a freshman, I was not a Christian. I was sitting in a church service just like you are today, and I needed somebody to call me to faith in Jesus. I needed somebody to tell me that simply attending church and being a good person did not make me a Christian. I needed somebody to call me to turn from my sin and to put my faith in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. So understand this morning, I'm not calling you to try harder to do better. I'm not calling you to make a new resolution or turn over a new leaf. I'm calling you. Become a disciple of Jesus, to turn from your sin and to turn to Him in faith, believing that His life, death, and resurrection alone is sufficient to reconcile you to God and to turn you into the spiritual producer that He has called you to be. You see, friends, it's only those who believe in Jesus who have the Holy Spirit, and only those who have the Holy Spirit have the power to be the spiritual producers that God has called us to be. So, let today be the day. Let today be the day that you turn to Christ in faith and become a spiritual producer who prays, encourages, and evangelizes. Let's pray.

41:31Father, what a challenging word and example we have from the Apostle Paul today. I know there are so many here with sensitive consciences who are sitting there thinking, I'm just not doing enough. I'm just not doing enough. And, Lord, the last thing I want is for people to walk out of here feeling guilty and condemned. And so, I pray for the believers in the room who Constantly struggle with that. Would you remind them that it's not about us doing enough to please you? You're already pleased with your son.

42:10And so I pray that we would serve out of gratitude and joy, that we would be spiritual producers because that's what it's all about. That's why you've saved us and called us to yourself. I pray also, God, for the men, the women, the children in the room who you are showing them that they're not spiritual producers. Would you help them to discern if you're calling them to get off the bench or if you're calling them to trust in your son?

42:49I pray that we'd have tremendous fruit from your word this morning and that we'd get to see a revival in our church and in this community because of your powerful word and your powerful spirit. Give us faith to believe it, God. Give us faith like we talked about today to expect it. In Christ's name, we ask all of these things. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.