Well, I'm going to let you guys know one thing I was at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert on Wednesday, and it ain't got nothing on what we just did. Amen. Amen Maybe it was just me. That's cool. That's right. Hey, I got some people with me this morning that being a day that we are celebrating, just that we are sending church, that we're a church that knows that we're a bunch of people who are called to take the gospel to the nations.

We thought it was important just for you to put some names with some faces, maybe some faces with some emails or information that you've been receiving in the world of missions here at Burn Hickory. So, I've invited the mission's team to be with me just for a second this morning to share with you guys a little bit about their heart and a little bit about some things that happened here at Burnt Hickory. You guys really quick. Just introduce yourselves and give us a little bit of a glimpse of what it is that you do here in the mission team.

Great. So, I'm Brian Foster and I am the mission's pastor, so I guess all the buck stops at my desk in missions unless I throw it back at Pastor Matt and make him decide. So anyway, I oversee that, which means we have missions internationally, nationally and locally, and these ladies help take care of all that good work and things that happen. And our job here is such a blessing to work with you and then carry out the things that we get to do here.

I'm Kimberly Reed. I am the local mission's associate. I deal with Cobb Paulding, basically anything here in the state of Georgia.

And I'm Kimberly McDurmon and I oversee oops Sorry. I oversee our five different church plants that we have here in the states and in Central America.

You know, there's a lot of ways to do missions. If you've been a part of church for any length of time, you know that every church has a little bit of a different slant, a different way. They do things a different calling or make up of their missions’ teams. Would you guys just real? Briefly, Brian, give us what is the central heartbeat of Burnt Hickory missions?

Great. Good question, Matt. So, one of the things we hear Burnt Hickory want to drive deep into each one of us is that you should have a ministry here at Burnt Hickory. In other words, when you come here with the people inside Hickory Baptist Church, we want you to have a ministry with everyone here helping out in some way.

And then we challenge all of us to have a mission off this campus. So, when you're at work, when you're traveling around, whether you're at the restaurant after worship today, that your own mission. So, everybody has a ministry and the mission so that we can get the gospel here, there and everywhere.

So, speaking into that, let's talk a little bit of specifics. I know that the last year probably two at this point, the world of missions has been turned upside down. I'm not really sure you guys can feel a lot of the weight and a lot of the let's just use the word that we all hate pivoting that these guys have felt, but really and truly missions have looked a lot different when you can't do a lot of things. Tell us about some things over this last kind of 20 months, 18 months. Looking back, what are some things that God has been able to do really and truly as a result of the people that are the church?

Yeah. So here at Burnt Hickory, through your giving, whether that be financially or giving in like through food and things like that, you know, one of the biggest things that we noticed in the past basically two years were food insecurities here in Cobb and around.

And so, we were able to partner with Noonday Association and several churches in the area to feed over 3000 families a week for almost two years. Yeah. So yeah,

I think we can celebrate that. That's cool. What are some other things that we're just excited about?

Well, yeah. So being grounded, I think I had to pivot, like you say, and from what I do and jump in with the local kind of get to know our partners locally, kind of see all of the resources that we have in our community, which was really exciting.

But I think more importantly, I was able to really pour into even more so to our partners on the ground and really kind of delve into like what they were experiencing and letting them know that they weren't alone.

We're experiencing it too, but we had some resources that we were able to share with them. And collectively, as a church, we were able to give over 1.2 million to into resources throughout the throughout the world, really.

Did you guys hear what she just said? $1.2 million over the last year? Because of your faithfulness? I'm just going to be honest. We've been just to pass through and blast people here regionally and across the world, and that is absolutely incredible. Brian, if we're if we're talking the future, that's kind of looking back.

We're not done. We're just getting started is where I'm telling you. What is it? What's the big ask? Like, what are what do we want to see happen in everyone's life?

Yeah. So, one of the things you guys are super generous and you give your resources, whether that is the money, or we take it up a collection of items. You guys are really good at that. But the challenge from God, I believe for me and all of us is to live missionally not just give missionally, and when I'm made live missionally, I mean put sweat equity, go somewhere, help somebody again.

Whether that's how did you share the gospel with the person that waits on you today if you go out to lunch? Or the person who check you out at the grocery store, how are you being on mission there, much less the person in the cubicle next to you at work? I believe God's called all of us to live missionally and if we're not careful, churches like us will give missionally but we don't serve missionally. It's not just about getting up and going on one of our mission trips when we get back out there. It's about you are being on a mission to your neighbor. And that's the big call of God, I believe

Amen, can you guys give them a hand for being with us this morning? Thank you, guys. You know, speaking of living missionally, Kimberly. Well, one of the Kimberley's there, both Kimberly. Kimberly introduced you to the idea that we have church plants across this nation that we're directly supporting, directly serve directly, do trips to all of the time. And one of those church plants is in Wisconsin, and it has launched within about the last year or so. And God is really and truly doing a major work in that church plant. And a large part of the leadership of that church is one of our partners, and I'm going to invite him. Come on up, Jesse. I'm going to introduce you guys to one of our church partners this morning, that is going to share what it looks like to be missional because I guarantee you the success in what God is doing in Wisconsin, in some ways, Jesse is because of how missional that your heart is. You guys welcome one of our partners in missions, Jesse Beernink.

Wow. Well, there's a two-year welcome that I would like to start out this morning, first of all, thank you first of all for. I got I got out there this morning. You all made me feel right at home. You know, like, I walked outside, and I was able to breathe outside and see my breath, you know, like I felt right at home in Wisconsin. So, thank you for that. But here's a second thing I really think you owe me you’re welcome. Or, you know, because here's the deal. I'm a I'm a brewer fan in brave country, and I heard that there is a celebration kind of going on right now, and I would like to say, congrats. But here's the deal. I got to say you're welcome for this reason. Over the past eight times, the brewers have made the playoffs. Every time they lose in the playoffs, that team either goes the World Series or wins the World Series. So, you are welcome. All right. You are most welcome for that gift of the celebration that you all are having. 

I feel like I'm part of you. You know, like, I really, truly feel part of you. And I mean that not as a brewer, brave thing, but you all have made me feel and our church graciously part of the Burnt Hickory family. And I got to say we may be miles and miles away, but we are so close relationally and we feel like we're coming back here to visit family. So, thank you graciously for your generosity, both and gifts, but also in love to us.

I'm going to read a passage of scripture today in Romans chapter one main theme. I want your main statement I kind of want you to see today is because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes we must be confident in it and joyfully overflow it boldly. Let me say that again, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. We must be confident in it and joyfully overflow it boldly. All right, Romans, chapter one is where we're going to be at, but we strongly believe and I hope you do the same thing, that this isn't just a book, right? It's not a book that you know, it's a bestseller every single year. It's not just a book. It is the holy inspired word of God. So, as we open it, we don't just want to read it like a book, but we want to expect things to happen. We want to hear from our savior. We want to hear from our creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, as we open it, let's pray to him and do that just now. 

God, you are a good and awesome God. We are so thankful for what you are doing here at Burnt Hickory. We are so thankful for the missions and things we get to celebrate. But father, as we open up your word this morning, we know that it says in here that your word is like a double-edged sword, that it pierces our hearts to change us and transform us more like use of God. That's what we're going to ask to happen here this morning. God may your word dwell in our hearts richly this morning so that we can't help but soak it out to people when we leave this place. You are a good, gracious, merciful God, and we are so thankful and eternally grateful. For you in your name, we pray amen. 

Romans Chapter one verses 16 and 17. Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes first for the Jew then for the Gentile, for in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. You know, Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation, and I want to make sure that we understand that we are confident in this salvation in all of our lives. All right. So, there are four things I just want to point out here really quickly for you to see that what we are confident, confident in the salvation. 

First of all, we need to see that it is the main need for every person in this world. That salvation, that the gospel is the main need for every person in this world. I know that you've probably went over this verse numerous times ever since you were five years old, but Romans 3:23 says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 says for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord. The gospel salvation is the main need for every person in this world. They may not realize it. But it is the main need of every person. And number two, it requires the power of God, this is nothing to do with yourselves is nothing you could do. And we will see that in in this verse here in Titus Chapter three, verse four through six. But when the kindness and love of God our savior appeared, he saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our savior.

You know, Paul realized that it was only by the power of God that he was going to be saved. And, you know, his transformation story, how that all happened. But he knew that it was only by the power of God that he was to be saved. Number three. It runs by faith from start to finish. Ephesians chapter two verses 8 & 9 says, for It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. Your day of conversion. The day that you believed it was by faith that you trusted that and throughout your whole life, it's going to continue by faith. You see, saving faith is not a general belief that he is the savior. Now hear me on that because even the demons believe that Jesus was the savior.

So, it's not just enough to have a general belief in the Savior. Rather, saving faith has three elements. The first one is your mind, the mind, we must understand the content of the gospel who Jesus is, who we are as sinners. What His death on the cross means for us? And that he was raised from the dead that not even death could hold him down. I like to say it this way, the gospel is simply four simple words, and you can easily remember this when people ask you what the gospel is about, you just say four words Jesus in my place - JIMP. That's what the gospel is. That's what I believe in my mind. I believe that in my mind that Jesus has taken my place of what I deserved to the cross, and he has died for me.

But the second part of that is from your mind, you have to take it down to your heart and a heart response to that is to the truth of the gospel, where we agree that it is true, and our agreement causes our hearts to be sorrowful for our sin. You know that we understand the weight of sin in our lives. That it has separated us from the creator, from Jesus Christ, our personal savior, but we also rejoice because there is a free gift from God that he gives us and that's called Grace.

You see, at that point when we say yes, the Lord and we receive the Holy Spirit, it says in God's word that he gives us a deposit of the Holy Spirit. And another thing or another word that it is to describe the Holy Spirit in scripture is it's called your guide. And I love that. You know, one of the things I have found out that I didn't know about myself prior to being married and having a family is that I really enjoy going on vacations. But if you're with me on this, you know what, when you go on vacations and you go to these different scenic tours, you know, sometimes when you walk into that gift shop right at the beginning, they give you a map, right? And they give you a map and they say, hey, here are the things that we offer you. Here's what you can go see.

And then they say, here, here's the map now. Have a great time and you look at it and you're like, Man, I don't. There's so much here. I don't want to miss it. And sometimes this is how we treat our salvation. It's like God has given us a map, how to live. And then he just said, hey, have at it, go get it. But that's not what God has done. You see, he's given us a guide, a helper. He's paid a steep price for a guide or helper in your life and the guide or helper. And you know this in vacation, if you are to go and say, I want a guide to take me on my vacation, it ain't going to be a cheap thing. But you are going to miss anything. He is going to take you to everything that you want to see, he's going to show you the things that you didn't even know about because he's the guy that's taking you with every single step of the way. You see, that's what God gave us as another gift to you as the Holy Spirit inside of you to reveal things about him all the time that maybe you didn't know before or that you did know, and you just need to be refreshed. So, it goes through my brain or mind, and it goes down to our heart. But then there's this commitment part for us and the commitment is to live for Christ now. Understanding.

All right. You some of you like the game of Monopoly and you love that getting that sweet card of get out of jail free. But we need to understand that at the moment of salvation, it's not like we get a get out of hell free card. And when we get to heaven and we get there and we can just slap that card and say, hey, good to go. Good to go. I got to get out of hell free card because that's how sometimes we treat our faith.

That all we got to do is have this card and we can just slap it down and think we're fine and forget about life here and wait until eternal life. You see, that's not what it is, because you see throughout all of the gospels that Jesus continues to talk about, the Kingdom of God is near the Kingdom of God is here. So, we are committed to living. Kingdom lives here. And that takes faith. So began with faith, it continues with faith, and it will end with faith. But fourthly, we need to understand this that salvation is personal and it's not corporate or a hand me down every single one of you God has put aside a relationship to have with him. It's personal and shocker to you. You may not have heard this before. Actually, no, you have, because I've heard Pastor Matt preach on this. Just because you come to church here does not mean that you're saved. You need to have a personal relationship with them that's in store for all of you. But just by coming to church, just by going to life groups does not mean that you are saved.

But the second thing is. Is this not handed down to you if you didn't know this? You may have gotten the announcement and you should know this about me if you got those announcements. I'm the father of ten kids. All right. So, you want to talk about hand-me-downs? Our families got it down to a tee. You know, like, I saw my older brother wear that. Yeah, but buddy, it looks better on you now. Right? But here's the deal. Your faith is not a hand-me-down from your siblings or an uncle or your grandpa or your mom and dad. You cannot bank that because mom and dad had a strong relationship with the Lord that it automatically filters down to you.

A relationship with the Lord is personal. It is not corporate or hand-me-down. See, the reason that we have to understand salvation is because we have to be confident in it. Why? Because if we truly understand it, if we truly get it, if we truly understand what he has done for us, where we were, how we are now, how are we not joyful people? You see some Chapter 51, twelve says restored to me the joy of your salvation and grant in me a willing spirit to sustain me. You know, this is like my prayer every single morning before I open up God's word, before I go about my day. God restore to me the joy of your salvation. Help me understand it more today, so it's a joyful thing for me as I leave here today and give me a Holy Spirit to sustain me. Would you say that you are confident in your faith? Would you say that you know it well enough that you are confident in it, you know what you believe? Because here's the deal. You won't move far for Jesus if you don't move in close to Jesus first.

You won't move far for Jesus if you first don't move in close to Jesus. And I'm not talking about, you know, like, hey, every once in a while, I'm going to send him a text or hook him up on, you know, call him up. Maybe even if I'm feeling a little bit better that day and call up Jesus. No, I'm talking about next to the fireplace, cuddling in, you know, getting the warmth of Jesus. And then as you leave, the aroma of Jesus is just fills the place off of you. You're cuddling and you're close, close to Jesus as you leave and you understand that the closer you get to him, the more you understand about him. You won't be able to help but be able to soak it on to other people.

So, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes we must be confident in it, but secondly, we must joyfully overflow it boldly. And here's how Paul says it in verse 16 and many translations, there's a word before it says, I am confident, or I am not ashamed in this. It's a simple word, and most of us would say it is the word for. All right, so if you were to say for, I am not ashamed, we have to understand, well, why is he saying for I am not ashamed and simply we just need to go back to verses 14 and 15?

And here's what it says. 14 says I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, Paul says that there is an obligation. So out of this confidence that we understand our salvation, we understand the gospel. It is an overflow with obedience. That I am to go out with the Salvation. Romans Chapter ten verses 14 and 15 says for everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved. Do you believe that to be true? The majority of you are sitting here, I'm assuming you believe in the gospel. That was true for you. How was it presented to you? Continue on verse 14, 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. Now, many of you are saying I agree with that saying, but I ain't no preacher.

Well, I I'm not getting up there. Hey, y'all, just to give you an idea, I didn't think I was either, you know, like the call in my life, I thought for sure, sports broadcasting was right down my alley and God had other plans. I'm not telling you have to preach, but that word preach means teach. Are you confident enough in your faith that you be able to teach somebody what you believe? See, I love this passage because he ends it in it. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news? I'd like to say it this way. Jesus loves stinky feet. Jesus loves stinky feet. You know, you can probably relate to me on this my brother, when I was younger, he worked at a farm, and he worked really hard. And what you knew when my brother was home, not when he came in and he opened the door loud, or he started shouting or something like that. You knew when my brother was home, when he took his boots off at the front door. Right. I mean, the aroma of those feet just went all over the house, and you knew that Brian was home because the smell in the house just suddenly has changed. You know, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news?

How beautiful are your feet as you continue to work the gospel into your life? Jesus loves your stinky feet because you continue to work out the gospel in wherever you are, whether it's to your barista at Starbucks, whether it's to wherever you're going to eat after church, whether it's your neighbor who mows his lawn too early in the morning. Wherever you are at. Jesus loves that you are taking the gospel to each and every place that you are. And the cool thing is, is that's how he designed it to be. That's exactly how he designed it to be.

It wasn't that he just waved this magic wand to make people believe it was that he was to call his servants to go and give the gospel. But secondly, this Romans chapter one verse 15, Paul goes on to say that is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. So, we are to overflow with eagerness. Now, how many of you would say you are eagle, eat eagle? How many of you are eager to preach the gospel, right? Many of you are like, No, that's for somebody else. But here, let me let me refresh your memory of a passage in Isaiah Chapter six. See, Isaiah is a prophet, and he has this this vision. All right. And he's seeing the throne of God. And then around the throne of God are these huge creatures with wings and really cool stuff. You should read it yourself. It's really awesome. Right? And as these creatures are praising the Lord, they say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. That's all they're doing. And as they are seeing these praises, it says in Isaiah six, that the temple shook, as they were to say, as they were speaking.

I mean, can you imagine being Isaiah and seeing this vision of the Lord's throne? And then you see these huge creatures singing this and the temple shaking. I mean, you are you’re wild point of seeing everything that God has set in stone for you. I mean, this is an amazing thing. And then all of a sudden, these creatures, they reach down into the fire, and they pull out this coal and they come to you and Isaiah, and it says with it, they touch my mouth, and this is what they said to me. See, this has touched your lips. And it says your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for. See, some of you are holding a ton of guilt this morning, and you imagine if you're Isaiah and they say your guilt is gone, just poof, it's gone. Are you kidding me? And then not only that, but it also says that my pride, my lust, my greed, my fear, my anger, my jealousy, my hypocrisy, my wrath, my impurity. All of that is atoned for and is gone. Yeah. It's all gone. And Isaiah says, Oh, man of unclean lips that I am. And he's in awe of what just happened. And then he hears the Lord speaking and they ask two questions, and it says the two questions are who will go for us? And who will represent us? And do you know what Isaiah didn't do? 

He didn't sit there and say, well, that can't be me, because I'm not very good with words. He didn't sit there and say, Well, that's not so much my gift. He didn't sit there and say someone else has much more knowledge and I do in this department. You know what, Isaiah said after everything you just revealed to me, and you've done for me? Here I am, Lord, send me. Like, how can I not after everything you've just done for me? Everything you just revealed to me. How can I not go now? Here I am, Lord. Send me, he says. And then the passage goes on. He's all excited, you know, like, where am I going to go?

And the Lord reveals to him, you’re going to go to a place where they're going to reject you. They're and they're not going to like you, they're not going to like your message. And he didn't bend. He didn't give up. And then it's basically, well, how long am I going to be there? And the Lord tells him for the rest of your life. You'll. There is a message for us to carry that the world may not like. And they may reject you. And you know what? You may be doing it until the day you die. But with eagerness, as you are revealed, all the great things that the Lord has done in your life and the only way you're going to do that is if you're actually spending time with him.

The more you revealed to him, you are eager enough to say if this were able to change my life, why can't it change his? And Isaiah and Paul would say, I am eager to preach the gospel, you know, there was my kids were taking a vacation Bible school a couple of years ago. And if you have young children, you know this pain where they come home from vacation Bible school with a CD, and then they ask you to put it in the car like all the time, right? And so, they had this song, it was called Bubbling Up and man, they listened to the song all the time. You know, we get in the car. Dad put bubbling up on put, bubbling up on it, and all the song was, I don't want to sing it for you. I'll spare you right. But the whole thing about the song was its bubbling up, it's bubbling up, up to the surface. And then the next part, they would stand, and they would shout, and they would say, I can't keep it in. Do you understand salvation so much that you can't keep it in it bubbling up over and I cannot keep it in? It's called the church planting. 

I said to the Lord, I was in youth ministry for about twelve years and said, God, you can do whatever you want with me, but here's the deal. I got a big family. I hear the horrible stories of church planting. So, I don't want a church plant. And Lord, if you cannot send me to Janesville, Wisconsin, that would be great. But here's the deal. Like, I'm with you wherever you go. Here I am, Lord. Send me, but not church planting and not Janesville, Wisconsin. And guess what your I mean my message was, you’re going with me. I'm going. Let's go. When do we start? He sent me church planting to Janesville, Wisconsin. You don't know where the Lord is calling you, but can you joyfully say? God with you, I'm so excited to go wherever you send me. I'm eager to do it because you're going to be with me lastly, here, life of overflow. Paul gives us the reason why the time is now in verse 18. He says the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. You need to overflow with purpose and urgency. Jude, Jude 22 and 23, says, but be merciful to those who doubt save others by snatching them from the fire.

I love reading that. I don't know if you all love the thought of being heroes, but that passage to me is like sweet. I get to be a hero. I could just snatch people from the fire. And what does he mean by that? Show mercy to others. Show mercy makes us fear hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Don't hate the person. Hate the sin that's corrupted their flesh. And show them mercy, steer them away from the path that they're going down to hell.

Because here's the deal, I know some of you are sitting here like. Not my calling. Cool message, dude from Wisconsin, but not my calling. You don't have to save them. Because Jesus did that when he died on the cross and he rose from the dead. You don't even have to convict them of their sin because guess what? The Holy Spirit does that. So, you're saying to me, what? What do we have to do? What does it mean that I am set? You are we are sent to reveal God, by the way, that we live. The way that we talk, the way that we hope in a broken world, the way that we confidently rely on him for all of the decisions in the midst of our difficulties and our trials that we continuously just run to his word. We are to be a people that others see that we trust in the Lord and everything that we do that we aren't motivated by the fear that the world is throwing us that, but we are joyfully overflowing with God's love in our lives.

So, the question I have is when's the last time you had a gospel conversation with an unsaved person? When's the last time you had a gospel conversation with an unsaved person? And the second question is, do you truly care people are going to hell? We are called to faithfully walk with them confidently. And to boldly proclaim his name above every other name as the hope to all nations. Do you believe that? That we are called to faithfully walk with him confidently and boldly proclaim his name above all else as the hope of nations. So church, I have a question. You're called. Are you ready? Are you ready to be sent? Are you ready? Are you confident? And can you joyfully say I am ready to share the word of God? God, you are a good and gracious God. And we don't always understand why you may want to use people like us. But here we are, Lord. God, may we be so in love with you that we are soaking it out onto other people around us?

May our lives reflect you so much that people want what we are living, Farther, not because of who we are, but because of the great things that you have done in our lives. God, thank you for graciously intervening in our lives and use us as your vessels and instruments. To be light into a broken and depraved world in your name, we pray amen. Amen.

You know, I think Jesse really resonates the heart of where our church is as well, and this morning, I think the challenge has been put before us of what our life is going to do and how it's going to look on display. So, the invitation this morning in the next couple of minutes is this is the invitation for us that are believers to say, Lord, what are you calling me to do? How are you calling me to pray, to give, and to go? How are you calling me to step into the lives of the people that are around me as well as around the world? For some of us, it's just a question of just saying, yes, Lord, here it is. Whatever it is, yes. But for some others of us, our first step is the cementing of our heart to Jesus. Yes, we can't act on his behalf if he's not in our lives. So, this morning, if you need to give your life to Jesus, I'm going to be down over here just for a few minutes. And I love to love to walk that with you. So, Matt, what do I say? Just look at me and go, hey, I think I need to give my life to Jesus. We'll take over from there. Maybe today there's been something that's been in here for a long time that you just need to say, yes, Lord. I just encouraged to use this time. 

Lord, we love you, God during this next moment of worship before we close. We just ask you to move in our hearts. God, allow us to sense where you're moving in us. And it's in your name.

Let's stand and sing.