Good morning. Turn, if you will, to Romans chapter 10. We're gonna go through a lot of the chapter, but I wanna start by reading from verses 13 through 15. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Let's ask God's help as we look at his word this morning. Father. I pray as we consider this text this morning that we would exalt your son, Jesus Christ. So thankful for the singing this morning and how it was all focused around our Savior. I pray, Father, that he would be glorified today in your word and in our thoughts. As your word is declared to us, we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Pastor Jim asked me to preach this week on personal evangelism. And I must admit that I had a hesitancy to do so. There are things in the Christian life that I feel I'm better at. If you ask me to do a sermon on Bible reading, I feel that's something I have experience with. But to do a sermon on personal evangelism scares me a little. I'll put it this way, my text has changed from last Sunday to today. I don't feel like it's something that I'm great at. Even the word is kinda weird to me. It's one of those words that if we ask to define it, I think we say something like, well, you know what it means, right? And then I give some kind of definition where I try to lead someone to salvation, just persuade them of their need. And that's not 100% inaccurate, but does that truly flesh out what evangelism is? I think part of the problem is that we have several terms that sort of surround this idea. But the word evangelism comes from the Greek root word euangelion. In our ESV Bibles, we always see it translated as gospel. The Navigators, which is an organization that really focuses on evangelism, had an article that I read that gave an etymology of the word euangelion. It was used by the Greeks in wartime to refer to euangelistes, we would say evangelists. These were people that when a battle was fought, brought good news of victory. If it brought bad news, I'm actually not really sure what they were called. Thanks be to God that he has given the victory through his son. The article went on to say that our term gospel actually comes from Middle English. A word, Godspell. God, actually meaning good, not God. So God, good. And spell, meaning story. It's a good story. The article even suggested putting on your favorite Sean Connery accent and to say it, Godspeel. congestion this morning so I feel like I can get a Sean Connery accent now. It gives us an idea of the pronunciation. All this is to say that at its base the gospel and evangelism are about the good news. Today we're going to talk about evangelism and evangelists Gospelism and gospelists, if you will, good newsism and good newsists. I don't want us to get too far away from that today. Brothers and sisters, we're going to talk about the good news. What is the gospel? We read a whole little book on it this past summer, and I'm not going to try and recreate it. There are different aspects to it that we're not going to get into today. But I wanna start my discussion of the gospel in the same way that Paul does. And he starts in the book of Romans. If you have your Bibles, turn to Romans 1.1, and it says this. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. And now, so he set apart for the gospel of God, and now we're gonna find out two things about the gospel. First, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. So first, it's been promised for a long time. It's not a new invention. It was always the way for victory. And next, we find the content of the gospel. It's concerning his son. The gospel is wrapped up in the person and work Jesus Christ. The gospel is concerning his son. It's my desire today that you see Christ, that you see him in the gospel, every facet of it. That you see him in evangelism, every facet of it. We have good news concerning the son of God. I'm so thankful for our service this morning. Every song was about Christ and Christ exalting. May he be celebrated today in our worship. May we believe on him in our hearts and may his good news be proclaimed by his people. One of the terms that is linked with evangelism is that of salvation, saving. Naturally, and when I say naturally, I mean that if nature takes its course, without some kind of intervention, we are headed for destruction. That's why we need salvation. If you're still in chapter one, if you look at verse 16, it says this, and look with me if you will. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why? For it is the power of God for salvation. The gospel's needed because we need to be saved. If you will, flip back to Romans 10, and we're gonna start at the beginning of the chapter, and we're gonna spend most of our time here for the rest, so you won't have to flip around. But Paul ends chapter nine contrasting the Gentiles who had a righteousness by faith with Israel who pursued a righteousness not by faith. And we come to chapter 10 and Paul starts this chapter saying, my brothers, my heart and desire to God for them, that is Israel, is that they may be saved. They are in need of the good news of Jesus Christ. And I think in this description of Israel that he's about to give over the next several verses, we might see certain characteristics that we could encounter and those we are trying to bring the good news to. First, if you look in verse two, they have a zeal for God. Everyone worships something, even if it is ourselves. There probably wasn't a Jew more zealous than Paul before his conversion. He was zealous in persecuting Christ and persecuting Christ's people, those who called on his name. Jesus in his upper room discourse in John 16, 2 says, He thinks he is serving God. They think they are serving God, but in all reality, they oppose God. And you see the root problem with their zeal. Look at the text. They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. It's not according to knowledge. They aren't thinking correctly about God. They're zealous about the wrong things, and it is because, follow the line of thinking four, being ignorant of the righteousness of God. So they're zealous, without knowledge, and ignorant. Thirdly, Paul concludes the thought that they are ignorant of the righteousness of God, and says, and seeking to establish their own. Is our world any different now? Are the people that we talk to, are the people that we see, any different than the Jews? Do we not have ignorance spouted from the rooftops? We couch in moral terms, in moral positions, It's often presented as fact now that men can marry men, women can marry women. That is a righteous thing and it's ignorant. It's not right. It's not righteous. But you will see that they are zealots that believe in this. They have a zeal for it. They want you to believe it too. They want everyone to believe it. This God that they are serving. And they tell us that we will be on the wrong side of history. They don't know. And they haven't reckoned with the righteousness of God. They have built their own righteousness. Or maybe it's a more insidious argument. Maybe I am being told to just be kind. That will save me. Keep the golden rule. But still, they're ignorant. They're trying to establish their own righteousness. I think here in Greenville, the most common problem we run into in declaring the good news is that people don't think it is necessary for them. They have a righteousness and it is one they work for, they are ignorant of the righteousness of God. They are ignorant of the righteousness of God that Paul, in chapter three, verse 21 says, has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the righteousness of God they are ignorant of. They are seeking to establish their own, They're doing righteous works. And they're not submitting to the righteousness obtained through Jesus Christ. And if you look, in verse four it says, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. So for those of us who believe, to the believer, right? We have stopped using the law as a means to righteousness. Christ is the end of the law for that. He is righteousness to everyone who believes. And that's not to say we don't do right. But our right standing, our righteousness doesn't come from the works of the law, but through belief. And that is a sharp contrast to those who need to be saved. Look at verse five, and you're gonna see that contrast. It says, for Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law that the person who does the commandment, right? The person who does the commandment shall live by them. It's not a righteousness based on belief. Not the end of the law to everyone who believes, but the righteousness that is built by those who do. They're working their way to righteousness. And people, that has been the default of man since the beginning. We attempt to save ourselves. Adam fell, and the first thing he does is make a covering for himself. Cain made his own sacrifice. The lawyer, who Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan to, asked Jesus a question, seeking to justify himself. That's what we do, we're hardwired to save ourselves, and that is our first response. Until the beauty of the good news, the gospel breaks through, that we don't have to be righteous from what we have done, but we can be righteous by who we believe in. Paul takes away any excuse that the Israelites had for not believing in the righteousness through faith. And he says in verse six, but the righteousness based on faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down. or who will descend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith we proclaim. This passage is worded in a way that makes it somewhat difficult to understand, I think, Do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down. So who can do that? Which of us could go into heaven and bring Christ back? No one, right, like that's the obvious answer. No one, I can't go into heaven and bring Christ back. So which of us can descend into the grave, and I think that's when you hear the abyss, Paul mirrors that with bringing Christ up from the dead. So which of us can descend into death, into the abyss? and resurrect Christ back from it? No one. So how can we say that we know about this righteousness through faith? Can we say we are ignorant? We just didn't get the facts. No, Paul says the word is near. So how did that happen? Did we bring Christ to earth? No. He came Himself. Ephesians 2, 17 says, He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to you who are near, to those who are near. The word used for preached in this verse is euangelizo. He declared the gospel. He preached it. He himself came and declared the good news. We didn't have to go looking for him. So the question is, do we have the information? Does God give us what we need to be able to have a righteousness through faith? Yes. We didn't have to go looking for him. He came for us. We didn't have to raise him from the dead. Paul's about to tell him. Paul's about to tell us that God raised him from the dead. So he witnesses to us in his incarnation. He witnesses to us in his resurrection. And we didn't do any of that. We had no part of it. We have no excuse. He came. The information is there to be had. He is near. Paul continues his discussion of the gospel and how we can be saved. And we have verses here that have been used by so many people. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, there's a certainty there you will be saved. I'm sure that many of you have heard this verse given to those who are broken and repenting. It's a great verse in that situation. Maybe it was given to you. How can we be saved? I want to note the primacy of faith and belief in this passage. John Murray says, the accent falls upon believing in the heart that God raised him. And as you read this chapter, you can't help but agree with Murray. Faith or belief is mentioned 10 times in this chapter. But honestly, I don't wanna focus on our belief this morning. I wanna take a minute and look at the object of our faith, the object of our belief. What does God reveal about our Christ in this Good News passage? How can we magnify Him? What does it show us? How does it inform our worship? How does it inform our evangelism? Let's take a minute and look at our Savior. First, we see that both our hearts and our mouths are involved. For the Jew, the heart is the center of his being, the center of his will, his volitions, his very essence, if you will. And those who are saved believe with every fiber of their being that Christ has been raised from the dead. They have faith. that he was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead. And that this resurrection declares him to be Jesus Christ, our Lord. And they confess it. They open their mouths and confess that Jesus is Lord. It is not a tame Jesus. It's not a Jesus that we pull off the shelf when we need him. It's a Jesus that's an all-consuming Lord that wants and requires everything from you. Your devotion, your worship, your praise, your obedience. That is the Jesus we believe in. That is the Jesus who is our salvation. Acts 4.12 says, there is no salvation in anyone else. So He's resurrected, we believe that with every fiber of our being. He's Lord, He's Savior. Through belief in Him, we are justified. For with the heart, one believes and is justified. This is the whole righteousness through faith that we have been talking about. We are justified, declared righteous. God is just. Paul, a couple chapters earlier, says God is just and the justifier of those who believe in Christ. We are declared righteous. He is reliable. He is certain. Verse 11 says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. You can count on Christ. He is not impotent. He has the power to do everything that he says he will do. He's not forgetful. He will not leave you in death. He's not uncaring. He died for you. You will not be left at your last day. I know Brad Baddorf has been teaching a series in death Recently, I read a book and through situations in our family, we are contemplating death in a way that we never have before. He will not leave you dead. He will not put you to shame. You will be resurrected for those who believe in him. He is reliable. He is certain. He is rich. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. There is not a lack. You will not go to the well and find it dry. There is plenty for all who call on him. Those who call on him will not find him stingy. He's not a Scrooge. They will be met by unfathomable riches that are found in him. He is available. Everyone. Verse 11 says, everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. For the same Lord is Lord of all. So I want you to hear everyone, Lord of all. And then he repeats, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You can go confidently into the world knowing that the Christ you proclaim is ready to save all who call on Him. Expound the excellencies of our Christ. How often have we attempted to share the gospel without focusing on Jesus? How often have we tried to tell people about God, but Jesus isn't even mentioned? He's a focus of our message, the centrality of the gospel, the centrality of what we believe. So how do I do it? If I am like Paul, and I have someone in mind that my heart's desire and prayer is for them to be saved, how will they call on the name of the Lord and be saved? In this next section, we kind of have the nuts and bolts of the process. It's not overly complicated. Paul is going through a logical sequence. First, they have to call. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? So how do they come to call? They have to believe. And Paul is not abandoning salvation through faith, right? Like they have to believe. Two, then how are they to believe? Well, they have to hear. How are they to hear? Someone has to preach. Who is supposed to preach? Those who are sent. And I want you to notice how the process is centered around Christ as well. The gospel is centered around Christ, but the process is centered around Christ as well. Look at verse 14. How will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And I think there's an implication in the next two. And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And I think the of him is implied. That's what we preach. That's what they have to hear. That's what they have to believe. And how are they to preach unless they are sent? And once again, I think by him is implied. Do you see the centrality of Christ to the process? He is the one that is called on. Not us. Nobody calls on us. He is the one that is believed. So you go and you offer the gospel. The question is, are they gonna believe Christ, not you? He is the one who's heard, not us. He is the one who's preached, not us. He is the one who sends just as he was sent. Before he ascended, Jesus appeared to his disciples. after the resurrection and said as the father has sent me even so I am sending you we should be as Isaiah and when God says whom shall I send who will go for us our response should be like Isaiah's here am I send me how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. I want to close today with some thoughts about feet. There seems to be a connection in scripture between feet and the gospel. Nahum, which, amazingly enough, we went through a few weeks ago. It's kind of like a once in a lifetime thing, and it happened right before here. It says in chapter one, verse 15, behold upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. It's very similar to a verse from Isaiah 52, which was read this morning, in which Paul is quoting here, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. Ephesians six. Verse 15 says, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. There is connection between feet and gospel. I wanna start with this last verse, because the thrust of the passage in Ephesians is not actually gospel advance. Paul had given great theological truths in chapters one through three, And then in chapters four through six, he explains how this works out in the Christian life. And he uses the idea of walking, which connotates a way of life. In 4.1, chapter four, verse one, he tells us to walk worthy of our calling. And 4.17, we no longer walk as the Gentiles. In 5.2, we walk in love. And in 5.18, we walk wisely as children of light. Paul's very interested in what our feet are doing. And he ends chapter six with a recognition that anyone who walks this way is in for a fight. We have an adversary. We're not going to be able to kind of tiptoe through the tulips in the Christian life, if you will. We're going to have to stand. And in this context, it's not of gospel advance, but of standing against the devil, of standing against our adversary, that we are to put on shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. And I want you to realize, as we talk about personal evangelism this morning, personal good newsism, that the first person that you're to preach the gospel to is yourself. Martin Lloyd-Jones has famously said that the problem is when we listen to ourselves, we should be preaching to ourselves. And it is this gospel that we proclaim to ourselves. We are ready. We too easily slip into the trap where we believe that our salvation by the gospel is a one-time thing. It's not. Paul tells the Corinthians, the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, Paul including himself in that, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. You don't stop believing in Christ to be saved. The gospel isn't something that is pulled out once and then relegated to the dustbin of your personal history. We must continually preach it to ourselves. We sang this morning, when Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made an end to all my sin. We continue to look to Christ. We continue to preach the gospel to ourselves. We sin and fall short and have to keep confessing, keep throwing ourselves on the mercy of God, keep rehearsing the cross. The series that we are in is the Habits of Grace. Today we're looking at personal evangelism. For how many of us could that be described as a habit? If we read the Bible once a month, would we call it a habit? Maybe. How many of us share Christ once a month? If we prayed every six months, would you consider that a habit? How many of us have shared Christ in the last six months? And I say this to my shame, brothers. But I wonder if our lack of obedience is a reflection of our unwillingness to preach the gospel to ourselves. Perhaps the gospel does not pour from our lips because it is not ready in our hearts. We preach it to ourselves as a last resort rather than relying on it first. Are our feet shod with readiness to preach the gospel to ourselves? And if you're sitting here this morning and you think, I have not shared Christ, preach the gospel to yourself. He is a merciful high priest. We must preach the gospel to ourselves. And we must also go and preach to others. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. And as I was thinking about this passage, I came to realize that there were inconsistencies between my thoughts about gospel declaration and this passage's. First, I would never say it this way. This wouldn't, Be how I say it. If I was writing this passage, I would say something like this. How beautiful are the mouths of those who preach? How beautiful are their lips? Those make sense to me. Those seem to be the actual organs used to declare the gospel. But the use of feet is instructive. It's actually very freeing that I don't have to come up with the message. Couple of verses after this, Paul says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. I don't have to come up with this message. It is simple, it is given, it is the word of Christ. Paul told the Corinthians that he did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I don't need to come up with clever catchphrases, inventive stories, interesting applications. I don't have to do any of that. I just tell of Christ. I use my feet because my mouth speaks what has been given. God is more interested in my feet than in my mouth. And it is this message that gives beauty. Feet aren't naturally beautiful. We are self-conscious of them. Lord doesn't like it when I wear sandals. I have terribly ugly toenails. I don't know what they are doing. One goes this way, the other one's like a ball. I don't even know how you do it. You women have to paint yours to make anybody think they're beautiful. It's all right, it's a different thing. In a much the same way, I might not have great words. They might be fearful. I might not know what I'm doing. I might walk across the street and give the good news to the neighbor and it is awkward. It is unpolished. The words are all balled up. You don't know where they're going. You don't know what they're doing. It's not lofty speech or wisdom, as Paul says. But I am telling you that your Christ looks at those words that you have said, looks at that and he says, those are beautiful feet. They went, they're beautiful. Even though it's all jumbled up and doesn't mean anything to us and we think, oh, it was crazy, I messed up. Christ looks at it and says, beautiful. How beautiful are the feet that bring good news. The next thought that I had was that our feet show us where we're going. They show us our direction, our intent. I was reading a while ago, an article, probably on ESPN, about an offensive lineman in the NFL, and he said that when he lined up, he would notice the placement of the defensive end's feet. And by this he would know if he was going to try and go outside or inside. His stance let him know that. His feet, the way they were set, gave away his direction. Feet show where we're going. Do you have a direction? A burden? What are your feet set towards? They show our desires, what we're trying to gain, what we're trying to do. Paul started chapter 10 telling us of his heart's desire and prayer to God for them to be saved. Speaking of Israel, Paul has a desire for his people. He states it even stronger in chapter 9 verse 1. He says, I'm speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. And this is an amazing phrase that I can't imagine saying. He says, for I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Can you see the strength of his desire? I don't have that depth of feeling for anyone. I listened to Paul pray this morning. about the people around us, like do we have that kind of desire for those people? And while I might not have that depth of feeling, do I care enough for those around me that I will at least set my feet towards them? Can I set my feet to take the good news of Jesus Christ across the cul-de-sac? Can I set my feet to take the good news of Jesus Christ around a cubicle? Could I be called to bring the good news upon the mountains of North Carolina, like our brothers Jeff Sprouse and Dave Simon here? Will I go? Is there a purpose to my euangelianism, my gospelism, my good newsism? Am I going? Where are my feet set towards? I've already been sent. Will I go? And where are my feet pointed? And while I don't know the anguish that Paul feels for his kinsmen, some of you do. Some of you that have children that are far from God, spouses that are unsaved. And I think there is a commonality to Paul's cry in chapter nine with our experience. Paul says, for I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers. Paul wishes he could save them. He would do anything to save them. But he can't. He can bear his own guilt. He can be cut off for his own sin, but not for theirs. But for those of you who bear that anguish for your loved ones, I want to comfort you with this today. For your loved one's sake, Jesus was accursed. For everyone who is hanged on a tree is accursed. And on that tree, he cried, for your loved one's sake, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Remember, no matter the depths of your love, Jesus loved them more. He was accursed and forsaken for them. One last thing to consider when with the preaching of the gospel is the sinner's response. I am so thankful here that I have brothers and sisters who have believed in this room. There are many that have believed. And while I'm not foolish enough to take for granted that everyone here is a follower of Christ, someone that has believed in their heart, I do think it is the overwhelming tenor of our church. But in the grand scheme of the world, it is a small group, a remnant. I talked about loved ones a minute ago, and I know that many of you have shared the gospel with your family, Some coworkers, some with clerks at the store, taxi drivers, some with clients that you do business with. In our circles, it seems like we always wanna share Christ on an airplane. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but that seems where all the illustrations are. They have heard. You've preached the gospel, yet they have not believed. And Paul ends chapter 10 with this thought. They have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have. There are many that have heard that reject Christ. And I don't want you to be discouraged about that reality in the Christian life. I think it's one of the things that causes us to not give the gospel. Remember, they're not our words. It is not our fruit. We just give it. We just give the gospel. It doesn't say, how beautiful are the feet of those who give the good news and people are saved. That's not what it says. As a matter of fact, in the passage, it says, how beautiful are the feet of those who give the good news, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. God is not telling us our feet are beautiful for the results. Just the going, just the telling. When I was preparing for this message, I read a little book by Matt Stiles called Evangelism. And he gives several marks of a church culture that is evangelistic. And one of those is that an evangelistic culture celebrates those who share the gospel, those who give the gospel, even if they strike out. And I would say, especially if they strike out. Let's celebrate the giving of the gospel. It's what we're called to do, even if we strike out. Isaiah says, here am I, send me. And God says, go to those people and say, keep on hearing, but do not understand. Can you imagine hearing that? You're going to go to witness, but they're just not going to listen to you. They're going to persecute you. They're like the people of Noah's time. They're not going to listen. But we must not get into the habit of taking the worth of our evangelism from the results. We must celebrate the gospel declared. That's what evangelism is. The gospel declared. We must also not give up. Paul in chapter 10 saying, all day long, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. Let this be an encouragement in the midst of seeming failure. Our God hasn't given up. For you who are waiting for a loved one to repent, our God hasn't given up. His arms are still open. He says, come. He says, call. We can continue to give the gospel even to those who have rejected. All day long, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. So how should this affect our lives? At this body of believers at Subaru and I would ask you to look at your feet. Are they ready? Are you ready with them to give the gospel to yourself? Are they pointed? Are they directional? Is there anyone that you have a burden for? Now are you going to go? And I'm not saying that you have to go the second, right, and tell them of Jesus. Though that might be what you should do. But are you planning? Paul goes to Athens and he waits three days and watches and listens and then goes and preaches at the Europagus. He sees them, there's a plan for it. But are you doing that? Are you planning in some way for these people you're burdened for to go to them? Are you engineering ways to be around them and to be able to talk to them? Are you going? Honestly, this week in Life Group, I told Pastor Jim that I really only wanted one question. Now you might get more because I'm not in charge of that. But I only want you to think, listen, Right now, I'm going to give you one question that you are to think about and come to life group with. Please tell us of one person you are interested in giving the good news to. One person. Tell us how you know them. Tell us how you are in contact with them. Help us pray for you as you seek to go. You've already been sent, go. How might this be an amazing thing in our life groups? Can you imagine what it would be like if just monthly someone in your group gave the gospel and then shared it with the group? Then it was a strikeout. Celebrate that thing. Sounds like a good time to go for ice cream. Tell them how pretty their feet are. That is how Christ sees it. If you can't come up with a name, ask for the group to help you. If you're a mother, you have children. If you work, you have co-workers. If you're sick, you probably see a lot of doctors and nurses. If you go to the QT every day like me, it's the same people there. Engineer away, set your feet, go. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news. Finally, in your life group, spend some time in prayer. Paul asked for prayer while sharing the gospel twice at least. In Colossians, he prays for an opportunity to share the mystery of Christ. Take the names that you have in life group, the ones that people bring, pray for them. And pray that your brother and sister has an opportunity to share the mystery of Christ. In Ephesians, he asked for prayer that he might have boldness to share the mystery of the gospel as he ought to speak. So pray that when that opportunity presents itself, you have the boldness to open your mouth. You have the boldness for your feet to go and declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's good news. You don't have to come up with anything inventive. It's good news. There is a saying in sports, you see your shot and you take it. Both of those things are involved in these prayers. Are we gonna see our shot and take it? Are we gonna see our opportunity and boldly go and take it? As we ought to do. Pray for each other this week. We are going out this week as ones who have been sent. First, may we preach the gospel to ourselves. And then may it overflow so that we preach it to others. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news. Let's pray. Father, we're thankful for Christ. May he be lifted up in our hearts. May he be believed in our hearts. May we preach to ourselves the good news of the righteousness that is available through faith in Jesus Christ. May we preach to others of that same righteousness, and may we know that our Savior is rich, is faithful, He's available, and He is Lord. And we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.