Man, I love our creative team, how they're showing you what the soap method looks like. Uh, you can read your Bible. Uh, okay. I want you to know that you know enough to read your Bible and to make some observations about what the Bible is saying to you. Uh, really the, when you think about the Bible, it was written on about a sixth grade level. So it's not a complicated, uh, set of writings. And you can make observations and then applications as to what you're to do with what you've read. And I think maybe that's where we miss it a lot, where, you know, you read and you read and you study, and you study and you study and you read and you study. But the application part is not something that gets done into your soul, and then you pray.

Now, I will tell you, I was reading through Romans a few weeks ago, and, and Romans so worked inside of me to make some changes in me that I, I was not able to make just by white knuckling it. And I told our teaching team, you know, I don't normally do this. And I just kind of trumped them and said, Hey, we're gonna preach out of Romans this fall because I think God is doing something in this letter to the church, the house churches in Rome.

Now, if you don't know much about the Bible, uh, Romans was the seventh letter that Paul wrote, wasn't the first one, but it comes after Matthew, mark, Luke, and John in acts for a reason. Uh, God, God is saying, here's some things you need to know. If you're gonna have a faith that is real, and, and you say, well, why should I worry about that? Because it's written to a chur, the, the, the house churches in Rome, because the Roman Empire is a whole lot like America. I mean, when you think about the government of Rome, it was bloated. There was a lot of stuff going on. There was illegal. Uh, I'm not saying either side of the deal, I'm just saying that's what was happening. Uh, there was this sense of, uh, sexual promiscuity that was rampant. Uh, people were into entertainment that was very violent, and, and they were very, they were very prideful. Now, there's a lot of hubris. And so over a period of time, the Roman Empire failed, but Christianity grew.

And so Paul is writing to house churches he has never visited, he's never been to Rome. Uh, he, he's talking to them 30 years after Jesus died and rose again. And when you look at the book of Romans, the first three chapters is all about what sin looks like. And then chapters four through six is how you, you know, the, the payment for sin in Jesus, and then seven through 10, how, how you can receive this free gift of eternal life. And then chapters 11 through 15, some practical implications of how you live the Christian life. And then chapter 16, the people that are going to continue to multiply this into the churches moving forward. So this book is amazing. I hope you will read it. We're gonna unpack it some today, and I'm gonna share some things with you at the end.

But, uh, Romans chapter one, verse one, we're gonna read one verse. So you go, well, that's gonna be a short sermon, but there's a lot in this verse. Okay, Romans chapter one, remember, he's writing to people that he's never met, he's never been to Rome. He'll wind up in Rome. I will tell you that he will wind up in Rome, but as a prisoner, uh, on a ship. And when they get him there, about a year or two later, uh, they will have this kangaroo court and they'll cut his head off, Hey, like that for discipleship.

So here he is writing to the, the house churches in Rome. And, and you need to know this about the letters in the New Testament, they begin with the sincerely yours. He's not starting with what we would start with the people we're writing to. He starts with himself and winds up with the people that he's writing the letter to, and he describes himself. And I want you to see in this, that this is the identification, not just for Paul, but for every one of us. And today, as I'm preaching, I want you to know that this is my identity. And, and if you're a follower of Jesus, this is your identity.

So let's read it in, in chapter one, verse one, he says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. Now you're like, well, isn't there more? Yeah, there's more we're gonna preach on it. Okay? And, and he starts by saying, you need to know something about who I am. And in your Bible, I dunno if how many of you're looking at your scripture, how many of you it says servants servant of Jesus Christ. Everybody. Yeah. But that word is literally taken from the word do loss, which means a bond slave.

Paul says, Hey, hey, I'm not just a servant, I just don't get a wage for what I'm doing. He says, I need you to know something. I'm a slave of Jesus Christ. He said, I, I've made him my Lord and my master, and, and I don't have a will of my own, that my will is to do what he would have me do. Now, now you need to think about that because in America we don't like that. If I say, Hey, you gotta serve this person, you gotta do this, you gotta go there. No, I don't do that. Uh, I'm free. I'm 21. I could do what I wanna do. Uh, or the land of the free home of the brave. Yeah. Yeah. Listen, everybody is a slave to something.

Now, think about that. How many of you pay bills? Eight people. Okay, that's great. No wonder we're struggling as a church. You know, you gotta pay your bills, okay? Uh, how many of you, you, you work? Okay? 35 people. Good. Okay. Alright. Here's the reality. Everybody is serving somebody. Everybody has a master to something that they give their time and their money and their thoughts to, and whatever that is, that's where you base your identity. Now. Now, let me just say that if you base your identity, which we all like, roll into this, okay? And, and you say, I'm gonna make this my master, I'm gonna let this dictate how I feel, what I think and where I go, it, you have become a slave to that. And you'll find pretty quickly, whatever, it's, for some people, it's an addiction, and you're a slave to that. Like, you can't stop doing that, or it's to be popular. And you're, you're a slave to that. You can't stop doing that. I i, if you're a slave to Alabama football, uh oh, don't say that out loud because right now we got things to do. Uh, the reality is everybody is a slave to something. And Paul says, I'm a slave to Jesus, and that's why I'm free.

Listen, what Jesus says in John 8 36, he says, he who the Son sets free is free indeed. That when you understand coming to know Jesus and receiving the free gift of salvation, you know, you're having to decide, am I gonna be all in? It's not where you gotta, well, I'll come if that guy's preaching or I'll come if they're doing that, or I'll, no, no, no. You, you, you're a slave to Jesus Christ. You say your will be done in my life, not my will because you're my master.

When Mary was told you're gonna have a baby. Well, I'm not married. I've never been with a man, I'm not even married yet. And he goes, yeah, but you're gonna, you're gonna have a baby and it's gonna be the savior of the world. And she says, I am your bond slave. I choose to make you my master. So I want your will to be done in my life.

You say, well, well, what, what gives God the right to be my master? What gives God the right to be my Lord? Well, in one Corinthians chapter six, verse 20, uh, he says, you were bought with the price, you were bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. That when you placed your faith in him, and you said, I, I wanna give you my life, there was something that happened in that moment. And theologians call it the atonement. The at one moment where, where there was an exchange where you got Jesus' righteousness and he got all of your sins. You, you were totally set free from the law of sin and death.

See, here's the thing about God. God has to, God has to punish sin. I mean, God is a just God. If, if God just said, Hey, everybody's going to heaven, you know, y'all do what you wanna do. Hey, I'm not gonna step in that, that wouldn't be love. That'd be hatred. You know this with your children. I'm like, if you never discipline them, you never corrected them, that wouldn't be love. That'd be hatred.

So you gotta choose your master. You, you gotta decide, am am I gonna serve man or am I gonna serve God? Because you gotta serve somebody. There's a great theologian, years ago, many of you weren't born when he was alive. His name is Bob Dylan, and he had a, an album called Slow Train of Coming. And, and in that album, there was a song that, that I tell you, I think he got saved because this is, this is, this is the word. He says, you gotta serve somebody and you go back and listen to it. You, you can, you know, get on Pandora, get on whatever, whatever you do, and, and find this song. This is how I'm not gonna do the whole song, just a little piece. He says, you may be an ambassador to England or France. He says, you might like to gamble, you might like to dance. He says, you may be the heavyweight champion of the world. You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, but you gotta serve somebody. Yes, indeed. You gotta serve somebody. It may be the devil. It may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody. He says, it may be a rock and roll addict, pray prancing on a stage, it might have money and drugs at your command. And women in the cage, you might be a businessman or some high degree thief. They may call you doctor, they may call you chief, but you gotta serve somebody.

Pause says, let me tell you who I'm serving. Just so you know, I'm a slave to Jesus. I do what he tells me to do. I I I'm on his command. I I'm on his timing. If, if, if he allows this in my life, I'm your slave. If that's what you want from me, that's what I want. He says, I'm a slave of Jesus Christ.

Then he says, I'm called to be an apostle. And I, I love this because I I want you to know something about the gospel. Nobody ever chooses God out of their own free will. That, that God is the one who calls you. God is the one who warms your heart. God. God is the one who woos you, maybe through another person, but he opens up your heart and he begins to woo you and draw you. It's, it's why Jesus builds his church, because he is drawing people to himself.

In Acts chapter nine, when Paul, he was Saul then was going to kill some Christians, you may not know the story, but in Acts chapter nine, he was not looking for God. He was looking to murder people. And in the middle of that, God knocked him off of his horse and he said, who are you Lord? And Jesus said, I'm the one that you're persecuting. And he began to draw Paul to himself, and he did a great work in Paul.

Now, now, your call doesn't have to be that dramatic. You could like be called, be called right now and say, Hey, I wanna respond right now. You don't have to wait till the end of the sermon. I've known people that got saved before the service started. I've known people that got saved in, in, in the, in, in the line, going, going through, uh, Shipleys. I've known people who have gotten saved when they were in prison, and their, their, their last option, which should have been their first response. But he calls you and he calls you to be an apostle.

Now, I wanna be careful because Paul was an apostle who had seen Jesus in an untimely matter. Okay? But, but, but the but word apostle really means to be sent. He says, all of you are sent, you're, you're, you're sent to share. You're, you're, you're, you're sent to tell other people. You're, you're, you're sent on a mission wherever you are. So I just let my life do the talking. You ain't that good. I mean, even Jesus, he would invite people, even Jesus would share with people.

So you're called to be an apostle and you're set apart for the gospel of God. Now, now I'm gonna tell you, when, when I read that, I thought, why didn't he just say gospel of Jesus Christ? Because Paul is backing all the way up to say the thing that we preach the gospel. It it's not just that Jesus came, it's all the way back in Genesis chapter three where God is walking in the garden and he's looking for Adam and Eve, and he's being so kind. He says, where are you? And he takes an innocent animal and he skins the animal first death in the Bible. And he covers their body with skins. It it, it's the limited atonement that happened in the Old Testament where every time they would sin, they would go and make a sacrifice and they would go and make a sacrifice and they would go and make a sacrifice. And some people still live like that, that, that say, you know, I have sin, so I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do that kind of, kind of break. Even when you do that with the limited atonement, that's not the gospel, that is religion. Where, where you're, it's kinda like having a credit card where you pay the minimum. Don't raise your hand if you pay the minimum, but, but if you only pay the minimum and you keep charging, you, you never catch up. And that's why at the appropriate time, in the fullness of time, God sent Jesus to be born of a virgin, to be born under the law so that you might be released from the law and you could be under grace.

Paul gives us our identity, says, Hey, hey, if you know Christ, you're a slave to him because he bought you. He loves you. He can set you free. You're, you're called to be sent to wherever you, maybe your school may, maybe on the golf course, you maybe even at Walmart. That's a great place to be sent, sent. And it's all because of the gospel of God.

So it gets in chapter 16, and this is where I love it, because this is where I'm gonna kinda wind up today. And now all of our pastors said, man, just get to the point of, you know what you're gonna tell us. You know, nobody caress about Romans. Well, you do care about Romans. And they were just kidding. But Paul is saying, you need to understand something. I am writing this because I am commissioning people in chapter 16 who are gonna go before you and you need to receive them. I I, I'm raising up leaders in chapter 16. They're gonna go into the churches in Rome and they're gonna kinda lead this movement that is gonna change the world.

And you read through chapter 16 and you're like, well, well, who is that? Well, who is that? Or who is that? Who is that? Well, who is that? I mean, they're like, they're like nobody's, right? Do you understand that God only uses nobodies that know the somebody so that God can work in a marvelous way through them. In this chapter there, there's, there's several women there. There's twin twin sisters. There, there, there's somebody that's a slave. There's somebody that, that's in the emperor's home. There's somebody that works for the city. And then you get all the way down to verse 13, and I say, there's Rufuss, there's Rufuss and his mother. That's like a mother to me. And you're going, who is that? Who's Rufuss Rufuss? Who?

Do you remember when Jesus was walking with the cross on the Via delarosa, the way of suffering? And, and he, he's going toward the Golgotha, and he trips and he falls and he drops cross. You remember that in the, in the story? Yes. You remember that? And, and as he falls, the, the, the centurion says, Hey, hey, say hey, hey, you over there? You over there Simon of Cyrene North is an African, Hey, you, you come and pick up this cross. And, and he's got a family. We find out later that Simon has a family. He's got a wife, he's got a daughter named Sarah. He's got a son named Alexander, and he's got another son named Rufuss. And that moment changed Rufuss life. Because he was close enough to see everything his daddy went through. He saw the change in his dad's life and it changed him. He became a leader in the church, the churches that met in Rome.

Listen, can I tell you something? God is still doing that when you go to House church, and I know house church is difficult. I've never heard anybody say, man, that's so easy, so easy with kids. It's just the most convenient thing I've ever done. You know, it's just so No, no, no. But here's the thing. Kids don't always remember what you say. They don't always hear what you say, but they remember how you made them feel. And when they see their daddy and they see their mama with a Bible open talking about how God has worked in their lives, it changes them.

Do you know what Paul is saying in chapter 16? He said, I see you. I see you. I trust you, and you can trust these people that are going before me. And that's a big announcement. The big announcement is, Hey, I see you all those campuses. I see you online, so better put some gloves on. And I trust you. I trust you because it's your turn to lead.

That's The beauty about being somewhere 37 and a half years, 1986 when we visited on call, the call to come, you know, Hey, do you wanna be the youth minister? And, and there was about about five or six churches that, that we had opportunities to go to. And I came back and I sat down on my couch in Dallas, Texas, in the village apartments. And um, when I sat down, our friends, Holly and Kelly Kitchens were there. And before I could say a word, he said, you're going to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, aren't you? I said, I sure am. A few months later, we packed up and we came here and we had a three month old baby. She's now 37 and a half years old. Sorry, I had to tell that number. Um, then we had two more kids and they were born here. And then we began like doing some different things in ministry. Then it became the pastor. And before you know it, like we've got kids and now we've got grandkids. And in the middle of that, God brought so many unique people to be a part of what God was doing. I I, I mean, yes, our leaders on staff, you know, we have, we have five or six guys that are great preachers, great leaders. Yes, they're phenomenal. But people like you, People like Rufuss who said, Hey, I'm 35, my life's been changed. I want to use my gifts. I want to help where I can.

And so over the past few years, God's been speaking to me and I've tried not to listen. Can I just be honest with you? Because He was saying, Jeff, it's time to hand this off. And I was like, no, I, I I I like this. I like doing this. I, I mean, I know I've griped about it and I've complained about it. Um, but I like it. And he says, time. And over the last four years, I've begun to realize it, it's time. And not to quit ministry. Not not to retire, but it's time to take a new seat on the bus to say to these people over here, I commend them to you. I I, I commend them because I know them.

And, and at some point in, in 2024, our elders who have been amazing, they have done amazing work. Uh, we're gonna highlight them more as we move forward. Six guys, they're wives, they've been all in. They basically work and they don't get paid by the church. And, and we've been praying and we've been working and, and, and, and we found this guy like, like, you know, they're actually churches that don't just go, like the preacher goes, Hey, I'm gone. Next week's, my last week. And then everybody goes. And so we found this guy, they really do that. 'cause I've seen that. And, and in December we started talking to 'em. We started planning and praying, planning and praying, planning and praying, planning and praying. And then we said, you know, hey, Septe, we went around the room with a little deal with no. And everybody put their hands on the table with what they wrote and, and we all agreed that this fall was the time to say, Hey, we're gonna begin a succession plan. And, and it's been phenomenal what has happened.

Um, we don't know who the next leader's gonna be, but we know, God knows it's not a popularity contest. I'm gonna preach about this in January. Um, it's gonna be the person God has called because what he's doing, I always knew I was in the first quarter, I, I always knew I was at the beginning. I was not at the end. And so I was always excited, like, this is the first quarter. Think about what's gonna be at the end of the game. Like when you come back, this is gonna be incredible. But, but now it's time.

And in 2024, at some point when the church votes on the next leader, uh, le now takes some time, um, several months off. I'm excited. Alicia's terrified. Um, and then we will come back in a different role as legacy pastor. And I'll get to come alongside our, our leaders and, and people in our community that serve the church and, and build them up and cheer, lead. And, and like, I have a special set of skills. Like if one of you gives one of our leaders a hard time, I'll have you killed. So I'm just playing with you, but I'm trying to lighten the mood, okay? Don't go outta here and say, brother, just murder him. Don't, don't put it on. Stop it, okay? And, uh, and we'll begin to move forward in this next season that I'm so excited about, um, to be able to come alongside my family. The first time in 38 years, I've really been able to relax on a weekend. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying the burden of ministry is no one should desire this job. Like, this is not a job you want. I'm, I'm God's slave, but even a slave needs to sit down.

And, and so we'll be praying. This is, she said, what can I do? Okay? One, if you're here and you feel the call of God on your life to be saved, would you just respond to him? I don't want you to miss that. If you just came to hear my little deal at the end, you're missing. It's not. It's about the gospel. And when we see hundreds of people get baptized dozens every Sunday at our campuses, man, that's what it's all about. And so if you don't know Jesus, would you invite him into your life?

Uh, would you pray for me and Alicia and our family, you know, for my family, I'm the only pastor they've ever known, and I can see it in their eyes. They're thinking, what does this mean? You know, when someone come to your house morning, you fix dinner for me. Uh, you know, and, uh, and, and so it's a change for them. But pray for, pray for elders, man. If you've ever served in a church, it's a thankless task. Everybody's criticizing you. Everybody's like calling the plays you should have called because they're not in the game. Pray for our team, man, that God will protect them. Pray for our church that the enemy will not have an opportunity to get his foot in the door. That's what he looks for. He looks for a crack. And would you pray that the enemy would have no entry into our church? Would you pray for our future leader? I mean, we have a team here. We have an executive team, we have a teaching team. That's not going to end, but would you pray we'd have wisdom as we move forward in that?

Would you continue to serve? I mean, for some of you, this is your moment. I mean, it's not like you're gonna, well, now I can, I can sit down, brother Jeff sitting. No, no, no, I ain't sitting down. I'm healthy, I'm excited. I have a new role. I can go to other, uh, church, our other campuses. I can stick my nose into property issues and how to raise money. You can't sit down. And would, would you pray about giving financially? I I don't know if you know this, but like, we don't send any bills to anybody. Do you know that? Like we don't sends you a bill or we don't go, Hey, you didn't you, I gotta docu pay. You didn't give. We preach, we worship and we give opportunity. And the way I'll know this has worked and is working, if you're serving and giving begins to go up, you know what I'll be doing? Well done. God, well done.

I commend you, I commend to you these leaders, both that are on our team and they're serving our church, that you would receive them and that you'd come alongside them in the great work that's ahead. I'm gonna pray. And Lee Parish, who's our chairman of elders, who really deserves so much encouragement, if you would pray for him and Elizabeth, what they've done is unbelievable as a team. And Lee has spent countless hours praying and working on this and, and we'd gone back and forth and, you know, we have some fiery moments and, um, but pray for them. And Lee's gonna, after I pray, Lee's gonna say a word, then we're gonna worship. So don't leave. I don't want you to miss this last part, okay?

So, so would you bow your heads for a moment? And let me say, I see you, I see you, I trust you that you're gonna lead and move forward with everything God began, he who begin a good work and you will complete it in Christ Jesus, not in Jeff Clark, in Christ Jesus. Father, I'm so thankful that I'm your slave. You're my Lord, you're my master. I do as I'm told. And Father, we just pray that in this process of moving to a different seat on the bus, that God, you would settle our family, that you would help our leaders, our young leaders who are prime and ready To step into the fray, to lead the spiritual movement in all of our communities through South Mississippi. And Father, we pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.