All right, take your Bible. Turn with me to Romans chapter number one tonight, please. The book of Romans chapter number one. It sure has been good to be in the meeting this week. Thank you for being here and being faithful. Thanks for all the labor that's gone into it. And Pastor Gravely, thank you for the vision to have the meeting and Bible Baptist Church for backing him. And all the preaching has been right on target. All the singing has been good. I like going to a meeting. You don't have to leave discouraged. Amen, and they're not gonna mess with you, but you can leave strength and in your position and I'm praying tonight God I'll meet with us and speak to our hearts Romans chapter number one Let me read you a few verses of Scripture here verse number 1 verse number 9 and verse number 16 And I'll give you the thought God lay to my heart and I'll get out of the way Verse number one, look what the Bible said, Romans chapter one, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto, and here's the two words, the gospel of God. Now look at verse number nine, for God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in, two words, the gospel of his son. Alright now jump down with me verse number 15 So as much as in me is I'm ready to preach and here's these two words the gospel To you that are at room. Also verse 16 my text verse says for I'm not ashamed of The gospel of Christ for it is I'm glad it doesn't say it was I'm glad it says it is the power of God and the salvation To everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek all of us here tonight have been brought to this place by different circumstances. We all have a different story. There's different things that worked to get us here. But at the same time, all of us have been brought here by the same thing. Every single one of us here tonight has been brought here by the gospel. I don't know if you remember this or not, but I remember as a new convert and a young preacher how satisfied and convinced I was of the sufficiency of the gospel. I remember I started preaching on street corners and juvenile detention centers and at nursing homes and I didn't know anything else other than the gospel. and just get in there and preach John 3, 16 and watch the gospel change the lives of people. Well, here's what I'm convinced of that in this day and hour, if we ever needed to lift up the banner and preach the gospel, that we need to preach the gospel in this day and hour. And for a little while, just a few minutes, I just want to preach on this thought, the gospel. There's a lot of noise being made in our generation. There's a lot of things that are posturing themselves as though they have power. Nations like to stand and boast themselves and say, we are a superpower. And they talk about their nuclear power and their monetary power and their economic power. There's a lot of ideologies today that seem to overwhelm like a flood and sweep on us like a wave crashing upon the shore, and they boast themselves to have a lot of power. I hear that phrase, they'll say, knowledge is power. And our world is drunk on the idea of power. You hear about it, black power, white power. girl power, queer power, green power, and water power, and electric power, and in California there's no power sometimes, but power. There's a lot of sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, and they're making a lot of noise as though they have a measure of power. What I'm saying is there's a thousand isms and ologies, a sea of rabid voices, and all of them seem to boast themselves as though that they're powerful. There's a surmounting force today that seems to be anti-God and anti-righteousness and anti-anything to do with the calls of Christ and there's no shortage of Ahabs and Jezebels and Nebuchadnezzars and Nero's today saying that we live in a post-Christian era and the local church is outdated and culture has voted Christianity out of office and in every respect And in every realm, it seems like we're in the minority, and there's a great power that works against the calls of Christ. The Bible said in Ephesians 6 and verse 12, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. And tonight we stand as a so-called remnant in contrast to the masses who are seeking to destroy our society and damn the souls of men. There's no question today that there's a multifaceted, multi-front movement against the calls of Christ, and thousands and thousands and thousands are being enslaved by that movement. It is real and it is active, but I want to say in this generation We were so greatly outnumbered and the opposition is so overwhelming that there is still power in the name of Jesus Christ And there is still power in the blood of Jesus Christ, and there is still power in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel's still the power of God unto salvation. Hear your Bible, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. It's more powerful than worldly ideologies. It's more potent than earthly philosophy. It's more persuasive than the seducing spirit of the age. There's nothing so powerful as the gospel. The gospel is God's declaration from the throne in heaven that he's ready to pronounce the sinner as righteous if he'll by faith claim the sacrifice of Calvary. It was good news when Adam found out about his skins. It was good news when Noah found out about his ship. It was good news when Abraham found out about a seed. It was good news when Moses found out about a bush that could speak. It was good news when David picked up a stone. It was good news when Elijah gave Elisha a double portion of his spirit. It was good news when Joshua stood outside the walls of Jericho. It was good news when Boaz found a Ruth. But I got better news than that. There is no grander theme. There is no greater story. There's no more powerful report than the gospel. of Jesus Christ. I'll say in this day and hour, we don't need less gospel. We need more gospel. We don't need a perverted gospel. We need the pure gospel. We don't need to water down the gospel. We need to proclaim the gospel. I say let the programs die. Let the gimmicks rust out. I say dig a ditch and put in it anything that takes precedence over the gospel. and just dig in your heels and lift up the banner and plant your flag and preach the gospel. It's still the power of God unto salvation. You say, what is the gospel? The gospel is glad tidings of great joy. The gospel is good news from another country. The gospel is a lifeline thrown to those that are sinking deep in sin. Lester Orloff said the gospel is God's emancipation proclamation, pronouncing you can go free to everyone enslaved by sin. And tonight, I'm coming to you on behalf of the gospel. May we not lose our faith in it. Don't lose faith in His power. Don't lose faith in His productivity. Don't lose faith in His potency. Let's sing them over again to me. Wonderful words of life. The gospel was the power of God. The gospel is the power of God. And so shall it ever be. The power of God unto salvation. You say, I don't know what to preach. Why don't you preach the gospel? I don't know what to sing. Why don't you sing the gospel? I don't know what to testify. Why don't you just lift up the gospel? What can change our culture? It's the gospel. What can turn the tide? It's the gospel. What can change a child of wickedness to a child of the king? It is the gospel. It's interesting, is it not, that a message of such victory begins with such defeat. There's few things as depressing and defeating as death. But the gospel's a story that begins with a death. The gospel is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing as hopeless to man as death. but then it digs deeper than that. Not only is it a gospel story of death, but it's a story of burial. You talk about hopeless, man. You stand beside a grave and say goodbye to a loved one. It seems like a hopeless cause, but I'm glad the gospel story does not end in chapter one, death, and it doesn't stop in chapter two, burial, but I like the conclusion, chapter three, resurrection, for I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received. now that Christ died for our sin, according to the scripture, that he was buried and rose again the third day, according to the scripture. Tonight I can say Buddha died and stayed dead, and Muhammad died and stayed dead, and your favorite hero will die and stay dead, but Jesus Christ died, yes, was buried, yes, but on the third day, the stone rolled away, and he walked up triumphantly over death, hell, and the grave. I don't serve a dead Jew in a barn or tomb. His body didn't corrupt or decay. His bones didn't turn to dust. But I'm glad he stepped out on resurrection ground. And because he lives, I can face tomorrow. There is power in the gospel. You gotta remember, it's Rome! It's Rome that scourged our Savior! It's Rome that beat his brow! It's Rome that rivened his back! It's Rome that spit on his face! It's Rome that drove nails through his hands! It's Rome that pierced his feet. It's Rome that planted the thorns on his brow. Rome is no friend to our Christ, and Rome is no friend to the Christian. It's the most powerful body in the world at this time, an empire of empires. And here's this feeble old preacher, this nearsighted little man of God, crippled and bent over. He's going to Rome, but I like him. He'll not be intimidated by their Colosseum. He'll not be fearful of their weaponry. He's not going to bow to their seizure. He said, I'm going to march into Rome with something more powerful than your army and something bigger than your Colosseum. and somebody higher than your Caesar. He said, I'm gonna come to town, and I'm not looking to make friends. I'm looking to make followers of Jesus Christ. He said, I'm gonna come to town, and I'm gonna swing the wrecking ball of the gospel. I like it how they put these verses about the gospel in the same chapter that records for us the perversity of the Gentile world. It's like God is saying, here's the problem, but here's the solution. You read the rap sheet, and I don't have time tonight of all the wickedness of Romans chapter 1. And for every bit of wickedness mentioned, it's trying to say there's something more powerful than the clutches of sin. It's the preaching of the gospel. There's nothing like the gospel. No greater story, no better news. It's the record of mercy, the romance of grace, and a report of reconciliation. There was, and thank God there is, power in the gospel. Only the gospel can confront the ideology of the day. Only the gospel can subdue the philosophy of the hour. Only the gospel can open the eyes blinded by sin. Only the gospel can pull down the strongholds of Satan. There's no power like gospel power. Victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever. The gospel finds its source in the mind of God. Before you ever were, God had you on His mind. As God determined in the council before time ever began to send forth His Son in this world, made of a woman, under the law to redeem them that are under the law. The gospel finds its center in God's love, for God so loved the world that he gave. And then greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You talk about love, that's the illumination of the Holy Spirit, as he opens the sin-darkened eyes of a lost man, lets him get convicted, and drawn unto saving knowledge. The gospel finds its substantiation in the word of God. For it's in the Bible, I read the record, that Jesus loved me enough to die for my sin. And tonight to this world, though it be wrapped in wickedness as it is, still the cry comes, ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money, come, ye buy. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without a price. The gospel is God's arm outstretched. The gospel is heaven's olive branch extended. The gospel is the red ribbon I can hang from my heart. There's no ditch too deep for the gospel. There's no pit too miry for the gospel. There's no sea too raging for the gospel. The gospel saturates like living water. The gospel satisfies like a loaf of bread. The gospel stings like a legionary sword. The gospel shines like a lighthouse on the shore. The gospel is sweet like a ladle of honey from Canaan land. The gospel's soothing like a balm from Gilead. The gospel's a rose that blooms in a world of thorns. The gospel's a star that shines in a darkened world. The gospel is salt that purifies a corrupt culture. The gospel's good news for a bad hour. The gospel is the deliverer of the captive. It's the escape plan of the enslaved. It's the one that looses the bands for those in bondage. It sets at liberty those behind the locked door. It's the expunging of the record of one condemned by sin. The gospel's the remedy for iniquity. The gospel's the remover of condemnation. The gospel's the resurrection of the dead spirit. The gospel is the restore of peace with God. When you believe the gospel, you get birthed in the family. When you receive the gospel, you get reconciled to the Father. When you seize the gospel, thank God future is all glory from here. At the gospel, every scientific theory must crumble. At the gospel, every humanistic philosophy falls. At the gospel, every satanic pull loses its power at the gospel. Every man-centered religion must fall. The gospel breaks up the fallow ground. The gospel plants the good seed, and the gospel brings forth the good fruit. The gospel's unbiased. The gospel has no prejudice. The gospel is blind. The gospel is wide. The gospel is whosoever. It doesn't matter how tall you are. It doesn't matter how short you are. It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter how rich you are. It doesn't matter how poor you are. It doesn't matter how smart you are. It doesn't matter how dumb you are. It doesn't matter how good you are. It doesn't matter how bad you are. It doesn't matter how white you are. It doesn't matter how black you are. It doesn't matter how broken you are. It doesn't matter how righteous you are. I'm glad if you're breathing in tonight, the gospel's for you. It's seven continents wide. It's colorblind. It's whosoever will. It's as wide as it's love. It's as deep as it's grace. It's as good as it's mercy. And everlasting as it's life. You can't touch the gospel. The gospel's the power of God. Unto salvation. Thank God for the gospel. It can put back together the broken life. It can mend the one who's been wounded. It can heal the one who's been hurt. It can lift up the one who's been fallen. It can rescue the one who's drowning. Thank God for the gospel. And such were some of you. But the gospel And now you're washed, you're sanctified, you're justified. Oh my, let me give you these points and I'll sit down. In verse number one, I see the emptiness of the gospel messenger. Paul, a servant. Yeah, he got to the apostle later. But I like this, the man who preaches the gospel realizes he's not the message, he's the messenger. He's not the show. He's just a newsboy saying, hey, hear this. I like that. Number two, verse number nine, the earnestness of the gospel messenger. He said, I serve him with my spirit in the gospel. What's he saying? He said, I'm not just lukewarm about the gospel. I'm not just in the ministry kind of in one foot, the other foot out. I'm not just dabbling in this thing. He said, I'm giving her everything I got. Then I see the eagerness of the gospel messenger in verse 15. He said, I like this. I'm ready to preach. You don't have to twist my arm. You don't have to give me any kind of love offering. You don't have to beg me. I mean, in fact, he said, I'm going to preach at the drop of the hat. And if you don't drop it, I'm going to knock it off the top of your head. He said, if you give me any opportunity. I like that in the book of Acts, they look at Peter and say, you want to say something? I want to say something. They look at Paul and say, you want to say something? I want to say something. Can I say that's how it ought to be? If you've been saved by the grace of God, there ought to be a love that consumes you. There ought to be a power that constrains you. There ought to be something that convinces you that the gospel is what's needed in this hour and any opportunity at a gas pump or in a meeting like this, it doesn't matter. If there's a sinner there, you gotta be ready to preach the gospel. I'm ready on Sunday. I'm ready on Monday. I'm ready on Tuesday. I'm ready on Wednesday. I'm ready on Thursday. I'm ready on Friday. I'm ready on Saturday. I'm ready on Easter. I'm ready on Christmas. I'm real ready on Mother-in-law Day. I mean, I'm ready to preach the gospel. And then I see this, the effectiveness of the gospel message. Verse 16, it is the power of God. Look at the gospel's depth for I. The I who said that was pretty low, pretty bad, pretty broken by sin. And he's saying, man, I know this, I am not a, the gospel changed me. If it could change me, it could change anybody. Now some of y'all, B.R. Lakin used to say, you think you visitors from heaven, he said, your halo's a little crooked. Now I know some of you were born and saved and everything, but some of us weren't. Some of us were born lost. We didn't come out with shine shoes and slicked up hair and a three-piece suit and a Sunday dress, amen, right there. Some of us were born sinners headed for hell. And we got a backstory before getting born again. And if you knew who we were and where we came from, you probably wouldn't even let us behind a pulpit. But I'll tell you this much, I am what I am by the grace of God. I'm glad there was a day on my proverbial road to Damascus, I had a head-on collision with the grace of God. The Lord Jesus Christ interrupted my existence and he turned my life around. Man, I didn't join the rehab, I got reborn, amen. I didn't just get a new suit of clothes, he put a new man in, oh man, he changed my life from the inside out. The depth of the gospel, down to the gutter with the arm of grace and he reaches down and pulls you out. The gospel's depth washes the gospel's dynamic. It's the power. Only one thing can make an old creature a new creature. An old man and turn his life around. Don't you reckon we ought to just preach the gospel a little bit more? You're looking for that magic bean to make the bean stalk grow in your ministry. Why don't you just preach the gospel? It's the power of God unto salvation. And then lastly, the gospel's declaration. I like what it says. I already mentioned this. It's to everyone that believeth. To the uttermost, all the world, anyone who's breathing air is a candidate for conversion. Let me close with this illustration. I heard about a soul winner. He went to a house and he visited this man. The man had on his mantle all these little different idols. Among those idols of Buddha and other things, these Hindu gods, there was a cross. The soul winner witnessed to him, and the man got born again. A couple weeks later, that soul winner went back to check on his new convert, and he looked at that man's mantle, and the man's mantle was empty for everything but the cross. He said, what happened to everything else? He said, well, I always knew that the cross was necessary. He said, but now I know it's enough. You might just get more sleep at night if you just resolve to believe the gospel is enough. We don't have to change or compromise or look for some new marketing strategy or gimmick or have a Wi-Fi connection or a big budget to do a work for God. All we need is get filled with the Holy Spirit, spend some time in prayer, maybe fast every once in a while, have some unity and then preach the gospel and let God turn the world upside down. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.