God Is The Gospel

The last week I started this new series called gospel fluency great phrase. I stole it has a title of a book written by friend of mine named Jeff vanderstelt it I love this phrase. I mentioned it last week fluency to learn. Another language is a difficult and challenging experience at some level. You have to go through so many stages at first. You just become kind of literate in it, you know the terms, you know, the grammar, you know some of the vocabulary but it's not natural as as you're trying to speak at your constantly converting it back to your your mother language, right? You're speaking the word in English and then you're translating it into something else and you're going back and forth and back and forth and and and and you may you may become functional in it. And and I hope we all become very very functional in the gospel that I want more than function. I want I want fluency. Not when I was a kid, we moved up to Canada and I had to take French from like the 5th grade all the way up through high school and the first few years of it. It was just that I was learning vocab. I was learning how to you know, do the verbs and all that sort of stuff in and I could I could say some sentences and I could I could get by but in the 11th grade, I had a foreign exchange student come and spend the year with us. He was from Belgium he and I became great friends. He smells like six languages, but he was very very fluent in French and he and I decided to only speak French to each other mostly cuz and impress the young ladies at the time.

Man, we got a lot of capital out of that. But anyway. But that year it if you know early on that I'm trying to talk to him and and it's difficult than that have to have him repeat things and but the more we conversed and and we hung out everyday and then the more we did that it just start starts moving. I started becoming more functional and more functional more pleasure in it. One day one day. I woke up and I realized that I've been dreaming in French. And I and when I woke up, I wasn't thinking in English. I was thinking in French. I was like, I think I just became fluent something something just happened. Right when we moved from knowing something to become fluent in it. It becomes a part of us. It becomes a part of us. And so when I talk about gospel fluency over the next few weeks, that's that's really what I'm talking about. I want us to dream in the gospel. I want us to think in gospel. I wanted to become a part of us. I don't want us to just be familiar with it or literate and I want us to be fluent in the gospel. How do we apply the gospel to our lives? How do we got apply the gospel to each other's lives in the church. How do we live out the gospel to those that don't yet know Jesus? How do we do it without being awkward and stilted trying to constantly translate it? We the only way for that to happen is for us to immerse ourselves in it. The practice the gospel like anything learning a language learning musical instrument. It requires time and diligence and effort and energy. It's something that we need to grow into. So this morning as we continue in the series, what I what I want to do is think with you guys this morning about the nature of the Gospel. What what is the gospel really the word gospel literally means good news. I mention most of you are familiar with that. It means good new. That we were I was talking with somebody earlier this week or last week and I said listen to me. I know the gospel is good news. What's good about it? What are what is good about the good news? I thought that's a great place to start. What is good about the gospel last week. We looked at this verse Romans 1:16. I am not ashamed of the Gospel. I'm not ashamed of the good news for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek the good news the good news about Jesus of Jesus of what Jesus has done. It's not something we should ever be ashamed of but the good news is actually the very power of God to bring Salvation into our lot. To bring Salvation into a ladder to how does news bring Salvation?

What you know good news can literally change everything the word in the Greek was used primarily to announce the victory of a battle town criers by a person that's going to run or ride a horse and announce what's happening. So everybody can know what's going on and went when a victory would would happen when a general or king or Caesar is going to announce that he is defeated his enemies who would send out the criers that but the the announcers and it would go from Village and towns and cities and they would announce the good news. That's that's that was the functional usage of the word in the time of the New Testament and I was really thinking about it. I came across this this Maybe I'm more modern imagery of that. I want you to imagine with me. the end of World War II the war's not over but it's nearing its in Far Behind Enemy Lines. Imagine with me a p o w camp. My grandfather spent a year-and-a-half in a few of you camp at the end of World War II. imagine this group of soldiers allies They're sick. They're weak there nearly starved to death. everyday one or more of them is literally facing death, there's fences and chains and guards that abused them and they're they're desperate. They're desperate to be safe. Now imagine one day and good old Hogan's Heroes fashion. One of the guards leaves a shortwave radio out and the prisoners are able to get ahold of it. And when the guards aren't looking they will gather around it and turn it on and listen. Hope for some sort of news of what's going on. Now imagine one morning like any other morning. There's the prisoners out in the courtyard pitiful shivering cold malnourished desperate. The guards are outside in and also the guards Kira annoys that they're not used to hear that you're cheering. They hear excitement. They look to see the prisoners high five in each other throwing things up in the air what's going on? There's still broken. They're still in prison. They're still hungry. They're still cold. There's nothing has changed except. They've heard on the radio the news that the Allied Forces have broken through they've heard the news that just over the hill. Is there Deliverance the guards don't know that anything's changed in one sense. They're still in prison. They're still there, but they have received the good news that the battle is over and freedom is on its way. I like that imagery. Good news can change your perspective. It can change your experience of what's actually going on Christianity Christians of heard. The news that Christ has come into the world and is fought the decisive battle to defeat Satan and death and sin and health. The war will soon be over and there is no longer any doubt as to who will win Christ will win and he will liberate all those who put their hope in him. The good news is not that there is no pain or no. After no sin or know how there is The good news is that the king himself has come and those enemies have been defeated and if we trust in what he has done and what he promises we will escape the death sentence and see the glory of our Liberator and live with him forever.

The good news is the power of God for salvation.

What is salvation mean I touched on this a little bit last week. It's a it's a big word that applies to a lot of different thing. It saves us from our sin. Faces from our self it saves Us From Hell. Save us from Brokenness and our relationships. It's it's it's saved us from so much but what I want to focus on this morning

and that this this is going to sound strange to maybe many of you this morning. Is it fundamentally what the gospel does? Is it saves us from God?

We're saved by God. from God forgot I'm safe for my since I'm safe from Health your sins are only a problem. If there is a righteous judge who will hold you accountable. Hell. It's only a problem. If there is a sovereign King who will bring about a day of judgment and give people according to their deeds what they deserved. Tell sickness long to be safe for all the things that the gospel gets turned into in our culture believe Jesus. You don't have to be sick anymore yet you believe in Jesus. You can have a amazing life you believe in Jesus. Everything's going to be the gospel

not it's not primarily are fundamentally at all concerned with these tertiary things. The gospel comes to rescue us.

from a holy and righteous God

cannot ignore accident

the gospel saves us. Jesus save us from our just judgment I'm a righteous and holy God. I love how Peter says in 1st Peter 3:18. He says it for Christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to. God do you hear that? That's the gospel Christ suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous. The gospel happens the Jesus might bring us to God.

Let that sink in for a moment. What does the gospel offer you what is it that you're looking for in the gospel? Never mentioned far too often. We're looking for Comfort. We're looking for convenience. We're looking for immediate help in our relationships are finances or a physical health or all these sorts of things. I'm not saying those things aren't important and I'm not saying we shouldn't look for them. I am saying isn't there something more? Then a healthy body and a good bank account and and a comfortable convenient life. Did you really think that at the end of the day Jesus would come and give his life humble themselves suffer and die on a cross and Rise Again. So that we can use him to get something else.

See what Peter is telling us in this verse is that Jesus is not only the means of Salvation. He's the end of salvation. We don't use Jesus to get something else. We can we use Jesus to get Jesus. This is the good news of the Gospel. I think it's simply as I can say is that we get.

That's what's good about the gospel. That's why I can say God is the gospel. The gospel says you've been made by God for God, but your sin has separated you from God and what Jesus did in his life his death. His resurrection is remove the obstacles that we might be reconciled to God once again, you see what the gospel is about the gospel is about getting.

Dodge the treasure

god is the fruit of the Gospel.

John Piper wrote this several years ago. It just cuts me to the quick every time he says the critical question. for our generation and for every generation is this

If you could have heaven. with no sickness with all the friends you ever had on Earth. All the food you ever like salmon. All the leisure activities you ever enjoyed all the natural beauties you ever saw all the physical Pleasures you ever tasted? No human conflict. No natural disasters. Could you be satisfied? If Christ were not there.

I'm convinced that that is a question that needs to be asked over and over and over again in the Evangelical Church in Estrella. Mountain says we need to ask ourselves. What is it? We're actually looking for what is it? We're actually longing for what is Our Hope in the gospel is our hope to Simply get out of hell. Is it a hopeless to simply not go to a bad place? But go to a good place. Are we looking forward to body 2.0? I know I am but it is that is that my primary whole am I looking to have a world with no more elections? Yes, I am. Yeah, but that is not my ho.

See if our hope is only for the avoidance of pain for the avoidance of conflict the avoidance of sin the avoidance of Health, but our delight and treasure isn't Christ. Heaven would be hell phora. Because heaven is all about Jesus.

If we don't love Tim cheer, why would we love him then? Play The Gospel. The good news of the Gospel is not the god wipes out your Ledger. It's not that steep punches your ticket to go to the good news of the Gospel is spoke the universe into existence. Oh, we need a bigger God Church. The God Who upholds and sustains all of creation every nanosecond of every moment of time The same The God Who is omnipotent all-powerful omniscient all-knowing omnipresent the god of the universe?

Makes himself available.

The people like me and you in the gospel.

The gospel is that we'd get God again. We were made by him. We were made for him and send separated us from him. The gospel brings us back to God.

That's something. That circumstance can't ever change. It went when we look to temporal. Earthly benefits of the Gospel as our hope the challenge of that is their temporal

he went went when we make our ceiling or or our health or or something like that the essence of the Gospel of the hope of the Gospel.

Even when it happens, let's take Lazarus member Lazareth. Lazarus died. Jesus could have got there and saved him. People were a little upset that he didn't Jesus was on his own time frame actually. Wanted to make a point that he shows up Lazarus been dead for a while. He's starting to stink up the cave. He's not a little bad. He's not Princess Bride mostly dead. He's dead dad.

Jesus right why because of the power of the Kingdom because of the Jesus said Lazarus come out and what happened he walked out and he was alive adults not partially life alive alive.

Here's the thing. Lazarus died again It was awesome that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

But we need something more. Then a physical healing or at a one-time raising from the dead we need Resurrection. We need God.

We look to so.

Many benefits and blessings of the Gospel. And the danger is we mistake those things for the gospel itself.

I'm not I didn't make this up a week. We speak the gifts more than we seek the river. We seek the blessings more than we seek the blesser and I just I'm captivated by this up if the gospel is truly good news if it is the best news. It has to give us the absolute best thing. God If God wants to give us the very best thing he can give us. There's only one thing he can give us. And that's himself. Sure that this morning there's nothing better the god. There's nothing better than God. He is the highest good he is with ultimate treasure the gospel amazing benefits and blessings of the Gospel, but at the heart of the Gospel at the Pinnacles and a height of it we get God. But I don't even believe that when I say that I know me I don't deserve God that's the beauty of the grace of the Gospel. I know what I deserve. I know my Brokenness the gospel says God so radically committed to bringing us back into relationship for himself that Jesus comes and saves us. from God or

Church, you know, I'm passionate about a gospel that matters Here and Now not just after we die. And this is what I love about God is the gospel. If the heart of the Gospel is that we are reconciled to God we don't have to wait till after we die for that to be a reality. I'm reconciled to God now I can come today. I'm covered by the blood of Jesus. I've been declared and made righteous if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation Now. Not because of what I've done that because of what I know because of who I know.

God is the god I got to wait till I die for the gospel to really bear fruit. I get God now you got here forever.

I suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God.

Search how much do you want got? That seems like a silly question seem like a weird question. How much do you want God? I love the Psalms. The couple songs in particular that on this topic just resonate with me some 27 fourth one of them. one thing have I asked of the Lord if you If you could only pray one thing. for the rest of your life If you could only ask for one thing, what would it be?

this is

we can stop that. I don't know who said that so I'm not going to pick on you. One thing that I asked the Lord. One thing that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We stopped. I want to go to heaven. I don't want to go to hell. That's not what this Amma says. He says that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord choir at this time. You see what he's asking for nothing. I just want to go to God's place. I want God's house without God. I want God stuff without God. That's not what he saying at all if I can only ask one thinks this is my heart's desire. One thing I want I want to always be with God wife so that I can just stand in awe and amazement at all that I want to gaze at the beauty of the Lord at his power as wisdom and his amazing kindness and generosity. I want to stand in awe of God.

One of my Seminary professors. That's how he defined heaven. He said it's just this is this is heaven. He said it's the eternal.

right You know that feeling right? Husbands, when when when you're when you're standing on that stage the pastor next to you and you see your wife coming up. She's not your wife yet, but she's going to be

When they put that baby in your hands in the hospital. when you stand in front of the Grand Canyon or the redwoods in Northern California, when you look at the beauty of crate, you have these moments of transcendence in awe and wonder

Church You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

You ain't sick. You've seen some of the beauty of Jesus in your life. Now, you've had moments of unbelievable Transcendence and prayer with God. You've been overwhelmed by his grace and his kindness to You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet The Best Is Yet To Come then. We will see face to face.

Here's the thing about an infinite Eternal God. You will never run out of things to be amazed by.

How about some 42 1/2 to this this verse I always like but when I move to the desert. Come on now. As a deer pants for streams of water for flowing streams. So pants my soul for you. Oh God, my soul thirst for God. What is your soul thirsts for?

I'd love to stand up and say that 24/7 365 a year my soul thirsts for God. I have amazing moments. Where I can pray with the psalmist. All I want is to see your beauty. I have amazing moments where I pray got all I want my soul thirsts for you.

I have far too many moments when my soul is thirsting for far less valuable Treasures than God.

Search do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? You desire God above all else. Are you just looking for his benefits and blessing? There is no benefit or blessing that compares to the beauty and Glory of knowing God himself.

God is the gospel.

Philippians 1:23 always boggles my mind Paul is talking about this constant struggle. He has within himself. He's not suicidal. He's not suicidal. But if you ask him, would you rather be alive or would you rather die and be with Christ? He's absolutely unequivocal and he says I'm hard-pressed between the two but my desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is what you say. far better

I love my life. I love my wife. I love my son. I love my church. I love my life. There's so much good here. Not suicidal. I have no desire to the end my life, but when I really think about the the reason the Bible ends the way that it does even so come Lord Jesus come.

The Departed be with Christ will be far better. He's not going to take us till he's done with us. The field are calling in the ministry that he's entrusted to us, but Church the best is still yet to come.

And it's Christ.

Church Colossians, 3:11 the centrality of Christ Centrali the gospel says here. There is no Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised Barbarian City and slave free in the church. There's no Republican or Democrat conservative or liberal in the church that you were those things. Those things used to define you those things used to be your identity, but the gospel changes our identity. the gospel changes that we were those things but now Christ is all and in all What's the most important thing in the church? It's Christ. What's the foundation of the church? It's Christ. What's the beginning of the church? It's Christ. What's the end of the church? It's Friday. Demands of the church is Christ the goal and the fruit and the end of the church is Christ. Christ is all and in all.

We've turn sharing the gospel into convincing people that if they don't pray a prayer and believe something they're going to go to hell. We think it's good news to offer them Escape From Hell and to go to some place called heaven. I'm not saying that's bad news. I I don't want to go to hell. I don't know anybody that would want to

but that's like saying.

We can offer people. a full-course all you can eat gourmet meal That's God. And we're offering them in a manure Sunday.

It's okay. I mean there is ice cream in it. Like we've lowered the bar.

When we preach the gospel to ourselves when we preach the gospel to each other when we preach the gospel to those outside the church what we offer all we have to offer and it is always more than enough is cry. the gospel offers us.

Sir Paul says in Philippians 3 7 days, whatever gain I had. I counted as a loss. for the sake of knowing Christ Whatever strength whatever skill whatever success whatever accomplishment whatever whatever whatever thing that I could look at and say man, this is good. I like this is awesome. I would give all of it up. I counted as loss for the sake of Christ in D. I count. Everything is lost.

The reality of knowing Jesus and everything is lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord the surpassing worth. Christ is better than everything. Christ is better than anything. There'll never be anything even in the same ballpark. I count it all as loss for his sake. I've suffered the loss of all things I count them as rubbish. I can just game.

But that's not an if like I hope I hope I can try it some if I will gladly lay this all down because in the gospel I get Christ in the gospel. I get a righteous man. Not of my own that allows me. Be reconciled to my creator. I've been made by God for God and in the gospel God Saves us. from himself for himself