Grace Haven Church

0:00 Over the past couple of months we've been learning and sharing about Jesus, the key that unlocks the Bible.

0:09 And it's been amazing.

0:10 I love it.

0:11 Because every week we've been learning something new.

0:13 Even though sometimes we hear the same Bible verse week after week, we always get something new.

0:18 And I'm really excited to share with you because I've been learning.

0:23 So we've been hearing about Ephesus, Revelation, the seven churches that were planted at the time.

0:30 But the story continues.

0:32 And one of the books that are very powerful is the book of Romans.

0:38 So that's what we're going to learn a little bit about today.

0:43 The letter of Romans, it is almost like a book.

0:48 It is a letter.

0:49 It was meant as a letter to the Roman church.

0:51 But actually it does look like a book.

0:54 It's the longest of Paul's letters with over 7 ,000 words.

1:00 In that time, it was really common.

1:02 The mail was already around.

1:04 But normal letters would be around 90 to 100 words.

1:08 Paul goes all the way to 7 ,000.

1:12 So imagine it would have been like a 14-page email or letter.

1:18 Have you ever got a letter in your mailbox with 14 pages?

1:23 I haven't.

1:24 And I've been married 14 years.

1:26 And I never got even like one letter.

1:30 No, words are short.

1:33 It's better sometimes.

1:36 But don't worry, we're not going to read through the whole book.

1:39 You can do that at home in your own time.

1:41 We're just going to pick three powerful things out of this amazing book of Romans.

1:47 So a brief intro.

1:49 As I said, Paul is the author of Romans.

1:52 And for me, Paul is like the Indiana Jones of the Bible.

1:59 I love Indiana Jones.

2:00 I always loved him.

2:01 Growing up as a child, all these action and adventure movies were my favorite.

2:07 And he literally, in the Bible, he's going through all kinds of adventures, almost dies several times.

2:13 He goes on a shipwreck.

2:14 He's put in jail.

2:16 He breaks out of jail.

2:17 It's amazing.

2:17 Like he is one of these persons that find impossible situations and make them possible with Jesus.

2:26 So the truth is, Paul was born an Israelite in Tarsus.

2:31 And his name was Saul.

2:33 He studied under Gamaliel, there you go, in Jerusalem.

2:38 And he became a Pharisee, a Jew of Jews.

2:41 Paul was known for being a persecutor of the church.

2:45 He was present at the stoning of Stephen.

2:48 We've told you this story many times.

2:50 And on the road to Damascus, he had an encounter with Jesus.

2:55 And that's where everything shifts, 180 degrees.

3:00 From going this way, persecuting Christians, to being an apostle for Jesus Christ.

3:09 So where did this happen?

3:13 Where did the letter was written?

3:16 It was written around the 57 AD.

3:20 And it's very likely that Paul was after his third missionary journey.

3:25 He was returning back to Jerusalem with the offering of the mission churches we just read about.

3:30 And the most likely place of writing was Corinth or Cintria, based on the letter.

3:35 And it was meant to provide direction and encouragement and guidance to the community of believers in Rome.

3:41 Rome was at the center of the empire and was ethnically diverse.

3:45 It was around one million people living in the first century, around that.

3:51 And there was a community of 40 ,000 to 50 ,000 Jews in the city.

3:56 So this was before the expulsion of the Jews, where after the fire, narrow expulsion, basically.

4:04 It was what resulted in the first major persecution of the church.

4:08 But that is later on.

4:09 This is before that.

4:12 The beginning of the Church of Rome, actually, this is not like the other letters where Paul has planted the church and then writes to them and send them encouragement or correction or whatever it is that needed to do.

4:23 Actually, we don't know exactly how the Church of Rome originally began.

4:28 The best explanation is that some Romans that were present at Pentecost eventually make their way back to Rome and started the church.

4:34 What we do know is that Paul sent some of the believers from the other churches to Rome.

4:40 The best example is Priscilla and Aquila.

4:42 We heard about them a few weeks ago.

4:44 They both met Paul when he came to Corinth.

4:47 And then they were doing also a ministry together in Ephesus.

4:50 And around the 53 AD, they went back to Rome.

4:54 The major theme of this letter is actually the basic gospel.

4:59 We heard about it before.

5:01 It's God's plan of salvation and righteousness for all humankind.

5:07 So he was writing to a church that he had never visited.

5:11 He didn't know them.

5:12 The only guys he knew was Priscilla and Aquila and other guys that he sent over to Rome.

5:18 And he had three purposes, this letter.

5:21 First one, it was an apostolic purpose to gain support of the Roman Church for him to travel to Spain.

5:29 España.

5:30 He never made it though.

5:33 An apologetic purpose to give a clear setting of the gospel.

5:38 So he literally spelled what the gospel was about in these 13 chapters in this book.

5:45 And then the last one, a pastoral purpose.

5:48 Because there was problems and divisions within the church between the Jewish and the Gentile believers.

5:54 So why is this letter relevant for us in Berlin today or in Prague or in Warsaw?

6:00 Why is this relevant for us?

6:02 This letter could have been written to us.

6:04 In fact, we can take it as if it would have been written to us when we read it.

6:10 Paul gives us in this letter the keys today to walk a Christian life.

6:16 And I don't know if you've ever had a master key.

6:19 I had once a master key from the whole school.

6:23 I was working in a school in Marzahn, Berlin Marzahn.

6:26 And they gave me this one key and that key opened all doors.

6:31 They opened from the front, they opened from the back, they opened the Sporthalle, they opened the Wegstätte, opened everything.

6:39 So I soon started realizing the responsibility that was to have this key.

6:46 Because I lost it.

6:50 So one day I couldn't find it.

6:53 And then I realized, okay, I'm going to have to talk to the Hausmeister in the school.

6:58 So I went to him and said, what happens if you lose the master key?

7:03 And he looked at me really serious, really German, huge Hausmeister.

7:07 No, that is a really bad thing.

7:10 We would have to change all the locks in the school and it's going to be thousands of euros.

7:14 And I'm like, okay, good to know, good to know.

7:16 Not for me.

7:17 I'm just, it's good to know.

7:20 So I had to pray and believe God so the lost would be found.

7:26 And I found the key.

7:29 But I learned a lesson and I made a physician room after that.

7:39 But imagine what you could open with this master key when it comes to the gospel.

7:45 We've already said that Jesus was the key that unlocks the Bible.

7:49 This is what Paul is giving us the letter.

7:53 And this Indiana Jones is about to unlock something really powerful for us.

7:58 Are you ready?

7:59 We're going to look at three aspects.

8:01 Three aspects would be key in the letter of Romans.

8:06 Number one, unlocking the power of the gospel.

8:13 In Romans 1, 16, 17 says,

8:17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel.

8:20 For it's God's power of salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

8:28 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith.

8:34 Just as it is written, the righteous by faith will live.

8:39 So what is the gospel?

8:42 Is it the music?

8:44 The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon God's spell, which means a good story.

8:50 It comes from the Latin Evangelium, which means the good news.

8:55 Buenas noticias.

8:57 Imagine what would have been for the believers in Rome.

9:00 Hey, hey, have you heard the good news?

9:03 What do you mean the good news?

9:04 Good news about what?

9:06 Dude, have you not heard the 13 letter story that Jesus read to us, the letter from Paul?

9:12 He gave us a good news.

9:14 It is easy.

9:15 He has died for us all, for everyone.

9:20 It's not Jews and Gentiles anymore.

9:22 It's for everyone.

9:24 We have been given the most powerful key that opened people's hearts.

9:31 The gospel, the good news.

9:34 Jesus died on that cross for you and me.

9:39 When you realize how loved you are, your perspective and how you live life changes completely.

9:46 Like that 180 degree from Paul.

9:49 And it's noticeable by everyone around you.

9:54 And the good news is that you don't have to earn it.

9:57 We don't have to fight for it.

9:58 We don't even deserve it.

10:00 It is there for us.

10:04 It's a gift.

10:06 But, but, but, and this is what was happening.

10:07 But wait a minute.

10:08 What do you mean for everyone?

10:10 These guys, these guys are not good enough.

10:13 These guys haven't been, they've been eating the wrong foods, the unclean food.

10:17 They smell different.

10:19 They look different.

10:20 They're not like us.

10:21 They haven't been chosen.

10:22 That's what he was dealing with.

10:23 What about us here in Berlin?

10:26 Is this for everyone?

10:28 Do you mean everyone?

10:29 Do you mean the guy that pushed me in the Kasse at Rewe because I was not fast enough collecting my shopping with my baby?

10:36 Yeah, especially for him.

10:39 Or the BVG controller that can be more unfriendly and, and irrespectful.

10:44 Even for the BVG controller.

10:46 For everyone.

10:49 The grumpy faces.

10:50 The schnauz, the Berliner schnauz.

10:51 For everyone.

10:55 But you know the key of all of this is at the end of the Bible verse.

10:58 It says, it is by faith and by faith alone.

11:04 We cannot fake this one.

11:06 This is when it comes to the real deal.

11:08 It is only by faith.

11:09 We receive salvation by faith.

11:11 Amen?

11:13 So what would it look like for you if you would start using, unlocking this key of the gospel in your life?

11:19 What doors would it open?

11:21 What hearts would open?

11:23 What solutions would you find?

11:26 What change would you make?

11:30 Number two, unlocking the power of God's righteousness.

11:36 And this sounds like a really big word.

11:38 Righteousness.

11:39 What is righteousness?

11:41 In Romans 3 .21 it says, But now, apart from the law of the righteousness of God has been made known.

11:51 To which the law of the prophets testify.

11:54 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

12:00 There is no difference between due and gentle.

12:04 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

12:07 And all are justified freely.

12:11 But his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

12:18 So righteousness by faith.

12:20 Righteousness means right standing with God.

12:24 Acceptable to God.

12:26 In other words, integrity, purity of life.

12:30 Rightness, correctness in thinking, feeling and acting.

12:35 That's what the definition says.

12:37 A character or quality of being right or just.

12:41 And God has provided that perfect sacrifice for us.

12:46 Because we couldn't save ourselves.

12:49 He made us right.

12:51 And this is something we really need to understand.

12:54 We haven't earned it.

12:56 We haven't been.

12:56 It's like we get a clean sheet.

12:58 It's like if you would, anything that you've done.

13:01 He cleans it for us.

13:03 And he makes a way, a pathway back for us.

13:06 Being right with him.

13:07 There's nothing that we could have done.

13:09 That's it.

13:10 He's going to see.

13:11 It's like a clean sheet.

13:12 You've been washed clean.

13:15 And justified by grace.

13:18 In Romans 5, 1, 2 says, So now, since we have been justified, made right in God's sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

13:34 For because of our faith, he has brought us into the place of the highest privilege, the highest privilege where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all of God has in mind for us to be.

13:52 He paid the price.

13:53 No records of wrong.

13:55 We have a clean standing with God.

13:58 It's the biggest privilege.

14:00 That's what Paul is revealing for us here.

14:02 Are we unlocking this key for our lives?

14:06 While we're still living like, no, no, no, I don't deserve it.

14:09 I'm not good enough.

14:10 I'm just, this is for the others.

14:12 No, no, no, no, no. You have to go back to what the word says because this is for us in Berlin, in Prague and in Warsaw.

14:19 This is for us today.

14:21 He's made it right.

14:23 He's made all wrongs right so you can access him.

14:27 Amen.

14:28 And then the last one, unlocking the power of water baptism.

14:36 And in Romans 6 says, what shall we say then?

14:40 Are we to remain in sin so that grace might increase?

14:45 Absolutely not.

14:46 How can we, how can we who died to sin still live in it?

14:52 Or do you not know that as many as we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into his death.

15:01 Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into his death in order that just as Christ was raised from the death through the glory of the Father, we too might walk a new life.

15:15 We are there to see a life to Christ.

15:17 Amen.

15:18 I'm going to tell you my story.

15:20 When I first came to Berlin 11 years ago, I didn't know any of this.

15:26 I grew up in Spain.

15:27 I even went to a Catholic school and I knew all the traditions.

15:31 I knew all the rituals, all the ceremony, the communion.

15:35 We did the baptism, the confirmation, all of these things.

15:40 I was even in the choir once, but I didn't last long.

15:44 I was more interested in painting the paintings in the ceiling.

15:49 But the funny thing is like I actually never knew the meaning of it.

15:53 It was more like this is what you do.

15:55 This is our traditions.

15:56 And it is, it was beautiful.

15:58 But I just didn't know what was that about.

16:01 It took an Indian mama and an Irish aunt in Berlin to tell a Spanish girl what this whole thing is about.

16:09 And when I first heard this thing, what about this was about, I was like, I want this for myself.

16:16 I want to do this.

16:19 I have to do this.

16:20 This is a decision I have to make.

16:22 I need to go under the water, fully immersed, and come back out in this new life.

16:29 I was like, no one is going to take this from me.

16:30 Even though it was May, it was freezing in Schlachtensee.

16:34 A great place to go under the water.

16:39 But you know, like we have been given the power of baptism.

16:44 This is not a small thing or another ritual to tick in your religious box.

16:50 That is not what it's about.

16:52 It is, we're living our whole life.

16:54 It's nailed to the cross.

16:56 And we boldly can say, like in the song, I'm not longer a slave to sin.

17:01 I am a child of God.

17:03 Amen.

17:08 Jesus conquers sin and death.

17:11 So we can also be included in this life-saving and resurrection.

17:16 Water baptism represents a separation from the old life and a commitment to your new life with Christ.

17:24 And I love how Mark put it last week.

17:27 I don't know if you heard it.

17:28 It is in the podcast online.

17:29 You can listen to it if you want to know more about water baptism.

17:32 But one of the things that he said is like, sin speaks a dead language to you now.

17:38 It means nothing to you.

17:40 God speaks your mother tongue.

17:44 And you hang on to every word.

17:47 You are dead to sin and alive to God.

17:49 That's what Jesus did for us.

17:52 And this is what Paul is unlocking for us.

17:56 But what are we going to do about it?

17:58 I want to challenge you today.

18:00 If you haven't done this yet, I want to challenge you.

18:05 Because at least consider it.

18:07 Read it for yourself.

18:08 At least consider it.

18:09 Because we have this master key we have been given.

18:12 But we need to use it if we want to get what is behind that door.

18:16 He can even let you look.

18:18 You can even have a look and see.

18:20 He's waiting for you on the other side.

18:23 Amen.

18:23 And it's because you have to because you want to.

18:26 Amen.

18:30 And knowing all these things now.

18:31 These three keys that unlocks this master key.

18:35 These three doors.

18:38 Not to lose it.

18:40 Like I did.

18:42 But how are you going to use it?

18:44 Are you responsible for it?

18:46 For what you've been given?

18:48 Are you owning it?

18:50 Are you caring for it?

18:53 Are you unlocking everything that he has for you?

18:56 As Paul said, everything that God wants you to become is there waiting for you.

19:01 So to think about what Paul did.

19:04 He literally went in one encounter.

19:07 One moment in the presence of God.

19:10 And he turned his life around.

19:13 One moment in his presence.

19:15 You are right now here in his presence.

19:18 Jesus is here.

19:25 There's a Bible verse in Romans.

19:29 That we show every Sunday at the end of the service.

19:33 And Paul makes it clear as the sky.

19:39 It says in Romans 10, 8.

19:41 The word is near you.

19:42 It is in your mouth and in your heart.

19:45 That is the message concerning faith that we proclaim.

19:50 If you declare with your mouth.

19:52 Jesus is Lord.

19:55 And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

19:58 You will be saved.

20:01 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified.

20:05 And it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

2022-11-23 - Jesus Is The Key That Unlocks The Bible (Romans) - Sheila.

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