What’s WRONG
With the Gospel?
I suppose there is nothing wrong with the Gospel, but something is usually MISSING when you hear it taught or preached…
In the scriptures, you will notice that when the Gospel was preached, people were saved, arguments and riots started up, and Christians were often beaten or jailed!
-Have you ever heard our wonderful Jesus being talked about by Christians and He didn’t sound that good?
-Have you heard the Law of God being discussed and it sounded oppressive instead of delightful?
-Have you ever heard the Bible being read or taught and it almost put you to sleep?
Of course, we ALL have suffered these things (and many of us suffer them EVERY Sunday). What is wrong?
What is missing (and can we put it back)?
I say that something is missing because I have seen this same problem in many other areas of life:
Have you ever had a flat soda?
Stale popcorn?
Room-temperature coffee?
Can we preach the Gospel and nobody be saved? Sure! The purpose of the Gospel is to bring salvation to the listeners, but it is being preached by US… and only GOD can save anyone.
The problem is that if God is not “in the room”, no one will EVER be saved! I know we have heard that if we are saved, God is always with us. Sure, but these same preachers rarely see anyone truly (lastingly) saved…
It is the presence of God that brings conviction, breaks hearts and makes the Gospel the power of Salvation.
1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
How do we know that we are in the presence of the Lord? Can we feel Him near us with our skin or our ears or our spirits? Do we just BELIEVE He is here? Many say that we should PRAISE Him and that will do it:
Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
“Inhabitest” means “to dwell”. Wherever God dwells, there is praise! However, can you make God show up by praising Him?
In the New Testament, the presence of God is in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where His will and His deeds are being done. John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and the Apostles preached that we should repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand. God is sort of standing by ready to do something really amazing… What is He waiting for? For us to repent!!
Haven’t Christians ALREADY repented? In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he was writing to saints:
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
So Paul, writing to Christians is encouraging us to learn from the Israelites when they were searching for the Promised Land (their version of the Kingdom of God) in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14:
10 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
(Those that are “overthrown” are those that FAILED to enter the Promised Land!)
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
So, listed here are FIVE problems that prevent us from entering into the presence of God:
1. Lusting after evil things.
-Lusting after your spouse or longing for God are “OK”, but many of the things we long for might displease God. A good rule of thumb (to know if something is evil) is to consider: Should I ask the church to pray that God will give this to me?
2. Idolatry…
-The word means “to serve an image”. Not just statues, images include: celebrities in music, sports and politics (these are not real people, just images).
-Hobbies, pleasures or desires that become obsessive, very costly or overly time-consuming.
-Anything or anyone that becomes more important or interesting to you than Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.
3. Fornication.
-More than “just” adultery, fornication is adultery, incest, homosexuality, bestiality or ANY sexual practice forbidden by God.
4. Tempting Christ.
-Engaging knowingly in risky or dangerous behavior and “trusting” Jesus to save you from the consequences. Alcohol, smoking, addictive drugs are certainly risky…
5. Murmuring.
-Complaining about how poorly God has dealt with you. Finding fault with God’s will in your life.
(Note: Crying in pain or sorrow, pleading for sinners or asking God to save our nation in revival are not murmuring. Saying something is GOD’S FAULT is always murmuring.)
OK, now if you are a Christian and have repented of these things, you will enter into the presence of the Lord! The Bible tells us WHAT the presence of the Lord is like:
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
At the beginning of this message, I asked what is WRONG with the Gospel. Now we know what is RIGHT with the Gospel!
When someone is filled with the joy of God’s spirit, the Gospel is GREAT news! It is not something people should believe or know; it’s something to accept and RECEIVE!!
When a joyful Christian sees a suffering sinner, they do not feel judgment or disdain. They feel sorrow and joy! Sorrow that someone suffers so, JOY because Jesus has come to deliver ALL of us from suffering, shame, fear and DEATH!! J J
And those old lusts and idols? Paul says how he feels in Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Let’s invite our friends, families and neighbors to become heirs WITH US of our dear Jesus, and if heirs, CHILDREN of God in Christ Jesus!!!
With the Gospel?
I suppose there is nothing wrong with the Gospel, but something is usually MISSING when you hear it taught or preached…
In the scriptures, you will notice that when the Gospel was preached, people were saved, arguments and riots started up, and Christians were often beaten or jailed!
-Have you ever heard our wonderful Jesus being talked about by Christians and He didn’t sound that good?
-Have you heard the Law of God being discussed and it sounded oppressive instead of delightful?
-Have you ever heard the Bible being read or taught and it almost put you to sleep?
Of course, we ALL have suffered these things (and many of us suffer them EVERY Sunday). What is wrong?
What is missing (and can we put it back)?
I say that something is missing because I have seen this same problem in many other areas of life:
Have you ever had a flat soda?
Stale popcorn?
Room-temperature coffee?
Can we preach the Gospel and nobody be saved? Sure! The purpose of the Gospel is to bring salvation to the listeners, but it is being preached by US… and only GOD can save anyone.
The problem is that if God is not “in the room”, no one will EVER be saved! I know we have heard that if we are saved, God is always with us. Sure, but these same preachers rarely see anyone truly (lastingly) saved…
It is the presence of God that brings conviction, breaks hearts and makes the Gospel the power of Salvation.
1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
How do we know that we are in the presence of the Lord? Can we feel Him near us with our skin or our ears or our spirits? Do we just BELIEVE He is here? Many say that we should PRAISE Him and that will do it:
Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
“Inhabitest” means “to dwell”. Wherever God dwells, there is praise! However, can you make God show up by praising Him?
In the New Testament, the presence of God is in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where His will and His deeds are being done. John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and the Apostles preached that we should repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand. God is sort of standing by ready to do something really amazing… What is He waiting for? For us to repent!!
Haven’t Christians ALREADY repented? In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he was writing to saints:
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
So Paul, writing to Christians is encouraging us to learn from the Israelites when they were searching for the Promised Land (their version of the Kingdom of God) in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14:
10 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
(Those that are “overthrown” are those that FAILED to enter the Promised Land!)
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
So, listed here are FIVE problems that prevent us from entering into the presence of God:
1. Lusting after evil things.
-Lusting after your spouse or longing for God are “OK”, but many of the things we long for might displease God. A good rule of thumb (to know if something is evil) is to consider: Should I ask the church to pray that God will give this to me?
2. Idolatry…
-The word means “to serve an image”. Not just statues, images include: celebrities in music, sports and politics (these are not real people, just images).
-Hobbies, pleasures or desires that become obsessive, very costly or overly time-consuming.
-Anything or anyone that becomes more important or interesting to you than Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.
3. Fornication.
-More than “just” adultery, fornication is adultery, incest, homosexuality, bestiality or ANY sexual practice forbidden by God.
4. Tempting Christ.
-Engaging knowingly in risky or dangerous behavior and “trusting” Jesus to save you from the consequences. Alcohol, smoking, addictive drugs are certainly risky…
5. Murmuring.
-Complaining about how poorly God has dealt with you. Finding fault with God’s will in your life.
(Note: Crying in pain or sorrow, pleading for sinners or asking God to save our nation in revival are not murmuring. Saying something is GOD’S FAULT is always murmuring.)
OK, now if you are a Christian and have repented of these things, you will enter into the presence of the Lord! The Bible tells us WHAT the presence of the Lord is like:
Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
1 Chronicles 16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
At the beginning of this message, I asked what is WRONG with the Gospel. Now we know what is RIGHT with the Gospel!
When someone is filled with the joy of God’s spirit, the Gospel is GREAT news! It is not something people should believe or know; it’s something to accept and RECEIVE!!
When a joyful Christian sees a suffering sinner, they do not feel judgment or disdain. They feel sorrow and joy! Sorrow that someone suffers so, JOY because Jesus has come to deliver ALL of us from suffering, shame, fear and DEATH!! J J
And those old lusts and idols? Paul says how he feels in Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Let’s invite our friends, families and neighbors to become heirs WITH US of our dear Jesus, and if heirs, CHILDREN of God in Christ Jesus!!!
