Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Spread the Gospel


This week Michael writes that Christians find a common bond in the gospel of Christ and in the love of God. Believers know by experience Jesus' message, "Blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven." True believers of the true gospel bring the message of the love of God:  "Love your enemies, bless them that persecute you."  Disciples of Jesus Christ live in the midst of the physical as well as the spiritual battle. Following Christ and having freedom in Christ is ultimately a matter of life and death.  

The message of the gospel is unknown by so many people. The word “gospel” literally means “good news” and the gospel message of deliverance and salvation will be received when those who hear it are broken and overwhelmed by the pain and tribulation of this world. It is impossible to rescue someone who does not know and believe that they are lost and in distress. Likewise, to understand salvation, lost souls must understand that from which they need to be saved ... the wrath of God against sin, which leads to eternal damnation. As Christians saved by faith through the grace of God, when we come to the Lord, we give up the freedom of our own self-centered will. To become a Christian means that my will is subject to the Lord's sovereign will. 

Jesus quoted the purpose of the Messiah's coming is in Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus also quoted this passage from Isaiah in Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The gospel of repentance is the good news of salvation. Jesus came to set the prisoners free ... to deliver them from the bondage of Satan’s kingdom of darkness into the glorious light of the gospel of peace. The Christian church is not defined by the culture; it’s defined by Jesus Christ. Earthly kingdoms move when the king moves. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand because the Lord God never moves and the King’s domain is the entire cosmos. The question is, “Who is your king?”  Are you bound to the kingdom of this world or are you bound to the king of heaven and His eternal kingdom?

The kingdom of darkness uses four areas of bondage to bind its subjects:  fear, pride, guilt and shame. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high.  As Martin Luther wrote, in the great hymn, "A Might Fortress is Our God:" stating, For still our Ancient Foe, doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our battle would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Doth ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he....And he must win the battle.

Only the Lord can overcome the enemy. In the power of Christ, no weapon formed against us shall prevail. These are lessons learned unto the "uttermost parts of the earth" as we minister to those of us who are grafted into the family of God. Spread the “good news” gospel of Jesus Christ.

May God richly bless you!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

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