We have life changing good news
We have no reason to be ashamed
The message is not about you but about what Jesus has done and is doing
Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. We exist to glorify God. We have set out to do this by gathering around the Gospel so that we may grow in the Gospel and go to others with this Gospel.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, our Lord:
A week from today is that big game. I know a lot of fans here, and myself, are a little disappointed in who is playing. It would be a little bit more exciting if some of the teams that we liked a little bit more were in there, but I know many people will still watch regardless of who is playing. One of the reasons a lot of people watch the Super Bowl is for those commercials. They can have Bingo or all these different things to see all the cool commercials that people are going to play. People will spend millions and millions of dollars to get a spot into that big show.
How many of those commercials do you really remember though? It takes something really special to have that one commercial that came on and you remember it. It’s that commercial that you tell everyone else about. “Did you see that one? That was so great!” That’s not how most commercials are. Most commercials you see played over and over and over and over again. If you watch any TV, it’s the same commercial and you hear the same message over and over and over again.
Why is that? Why do they need to show the same commercials, the same things over and over again? That’s how our minds work. That’s how we are. It doesn’t just take one time for us to remember. It takes us a while to remember and to act on something. They say you need to hear something at least 7 times, more likely about 14 times, until you act on them. People know that. Businesses know that and they want to get that really good one, but if they can’t, they are just going to keep giving you that message.
I think when it comes to God’s Word, we see both of these things take place. We have an amazing message. It’s something that is so memorable, but it’s not a one-time thing. It’s something that we need to hear over and over again and share over and over again so we remember it.
When we look at our text where Paul is writing to the Romans, last week we looked at the next section. We looked at how or why people don’t believe. Why had Israel rejected? We hear that a little bit at the end where Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” We talked about that when people don’t believe, it’s not God’s fault. It’s people who reject Jesus. They reject the Gospel. And they focus on their works and on who they are instead of focusing on Jesus. But how do we get to believe in this? How do we share this message? How do we know about it?
The first part is to hear again what the message is. Look at what Paul writes. He says, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” And he says later, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Finally, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” What is this message? It’s life-changing good news. It’s not just this other thing to be shared. It’s not just another new story, something you hear over and over again; this matters. Those who hear this and believe will be saved and you are justified! It’s not just a small thing.
This is that one commercial that you remember and want to tell everyone because it matters. It matters eternally. You are justified and you are saved. This is THE good news. There is nothing greater than this message that we have. It’s not just for today. It’s not for one person. Did you hear what it said? It says there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him… It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, what language you speak, this is good news for everyone.
Why especially is it good news for us? Notice he says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Shame is something we don’t often talk about. Shame is not something we share with others. Shame is the thing that you keep down inside and you want to hide it. That’s what shame is. These are the things I am ashamed of and I don’t want to share. The sins that I’ve committed, that you’ve committed, that you want no one to know about. But God is saying we have no reason to be ashamed.
But we feel this all the time, don’t we? We struggle with our sin. We struggle with it, so we need to hear this good news over and over again. And those around you; this is what our world is struggling with. Everyone wants to cancel everyone and anything that leaks out about your past is not forgiven. We’re a world that seeks out to shame others. So what do we do with that? How do we live in a world that wants shame and wants to bring others down when we need good news?
We need good news that breaks that all down and is so much greater; that you are saved and justified and redeemed. We need to share that. We need to get that out to others and tell them. This is what Paul writes about. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” When it’s talking about preaching that good news, is it talking about just the preacher up here? The ones who wear the white robe or the black robe? Who is it talking about? When it’s talking about the feet of those who bring good news? That’s all of us. This is EVERY Christian.
Being a Christian is about sharing this good news, being a disciple. At the end of the Gospel it says Jesus called them and they left everything and followed him. A disciple follows. We follow Jesus. What do disciples then do? They make more disciples. They share that good news.
What happens though as we share that good news with our words, or maybe even as we share it with our lives? Do you ever hit some road blocks? Do you sometimes feel ashamed? We start talking to someone and they say, “What are you talking about? Look at your life!” Or “I know your past! How can you talk about these things?” Maybe we feel ashamed of the sins that we have committed and say “I can’t share about Jesus. I’m not a good enough person.” Or I start sharing and what happens? They bring out these questions in opposition and maybe I’m ashamed because I don’t know the answers. I don’t feel confident in what to tell other people. So even when it comes to sharing God’s Word, of being this messenger, of being this disciple who makes other disciples, how easy is it for us to be ashamed?
What do we do? What happens when we do that? Do we just stop? When you think I’m not a good enough person, that’s not what it’s about, is it? We’ll get to that in a minute, but when you work with your kids, or if you’re a coach and something gets hard or you meet opposition, do you say “Okay, stop. Don’t go back. Quit football. Quit baseball. Quit basketball. Quit whatever it is. Don’t do it again”? That’s not what we do. When we meet opposition, we grow and we learn and we seek to get the answers and go back and continue to share because what it is about is not just a simple message. It’s this eternal good news.
I want us to think about as we share this news and as we learn this news, there are some interesting studies about what we remember. It says we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, and 30% of what we see. That’s pretty simple and it’s a lot of what we do in school and in church. We remember 50% of what we see and hear, so combined it’s a little bit more. Now listen to these next ones: 70% of what we discuss with others we remember; 70%. We remember 80% of what we experience. I think this one is real interesting. You really remember that tropical island you went to, not so much if someone just tells you about it. You remember the things you experience. But then, we remember 90%-95% of what we teach others. That’s a lot of what teachers try to do with their kids. They flip the classroom and have the kids try to teach so they learn it.
Think about that with the Gospel and God’s Word. What do we do most often with God’s Word? We read it. We hear it. We see it. But think about those opportunities of discussing it together. We remember 70% of that and we really grow as we discuss it. What opportunities do we have of that; Bible Study and at home with your family when you pray and discuss God’s Word. Then 95% of what you teach to others. What is that? That is sharing the Gospel, but it doesn’t have to be just “This is Jesus.” We can teach, share and explain. If they come with opposition, what can you do? Continue to learn because if you don’t know the answers, it’s probably good for you to learn the answers, isn’t it? It’s good for you to grow and to share and for you to grow and know God more.
We have this new class that we’re going to have once a month. You only have to come once. It’s not like an every-month thing. We’re calling it Partnering in the Gospel. It’s a thing we want for every member to do. It encourages us on what it means to be a member; how do we partner in sharing God’s Word, and how do we have these beautiful feet that share the good news. We’re all a part of this in sharing God’s Word.
It’s important for us to see that we’re a part of this and to remember we have no reason to be ashamed as we share this and share God’s Word. Why? Remember when we said sometimes you might be ashamed because “I’m not a good enough person” or “I don’t go to church all the time” or “I don’t go to Bible study all the time”? Who is this message really about? The message is not about you but about Jesus and what He has done and what He is doing. A lot of times we want to focus on us. That was the problem last week; when people focus on their works and who they are and not on Jesus and His Gospel. But when we share this message, it’s not about us. We get to share about Jesus, about what He has done (our redemption, our salvation) and what He continues to do. What’s true is that does include you, what He is doing in your life, what He has done to redeem you and how the Gospel helps you in your life. It continues. But we don’t have to fear and wonder or say “People are going to say we’re hypocritical.” It’s not about us.
I’m not saying people aren’t sharing God’s Word. I know people are, but we all fall short at times. We all know there are opportunities where we could grow more and at times we just tense up because we think it’s about us, or that it depends on me. But we know the one who is really doing all this work is Jesus.
In Verse 17: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. It’s not about us. But what a joy it is that we get to be His messengers; sharing His Word and growing in faith as we share it and building each other up in what really matters. There is no better good news. If you could have that one thing that people remember, the one thing is that Gospel. It’s that Gospel. But we know in this world people are getting so many different things over and over again. Different messages, different views and different things to focus on. So yes, we do need to continue to share, but we get to share a message about Jesus. It’s one filled with the Gospel and His love and a message all about not what we do, but all about what He has done for you. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7.) Amen.