Discover the Gospel II
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Please open your Bibles to Matthew 9:35. This is message two of Discovering the Gospel. Message three of the Discover Series. This series is about fulfilling our mission as a congregation - to help people reach their full potential in Christ: physically, spiritually and emotionally. To fulfill our mission, we need to head into some new territory - and discover new ways of reaching people with the Gospel.
Remember, to reach one’s potential begins with the Gospel - the good news that God gave His Son for our salvation. Remember, the gospel is expansive. The gospel is about rescue, restoration, freedom, wholeness … all part of redeeming a lost and broken world.
We have a mission to fulfill -
On Jan 2, I got out of bed, got my coffee, sat on the couch, opened the Bible. I was still recovering from the flu, so I was in no shape to be in a hurry. The passage that day was
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
That passage really troubled me. I thought about how many people we’ve seen come up faith in Christ this past year – 3. Not enough.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Back to Matthew 9 - just a few thoughts and then Josie will come up and share. The first thing I noticed was that Jesus himself proclaimed the Gospel wherever He went.
1. The Gospel permeated His life.
No matter what Jesus did, the Gospel message was right there at the center of his heart, motives – influencing his actions, his words his …
Explain permeate. Not a one size fits all … influenced how He dealt with and responded to hypocrites, sinners, the hurting, struggling, the broken ….
Curious -
On a scale of 1-9, how thoroughly does the Gospel permeate my life? My church? What could I do to increase the Gospel in my life? In my church?
Me - I’m praying for God to revive the Gospel in my heart - less of a theological topic and more of a life reality that needs to be present and ready wherever I go.
The second thing I noticed is that Jesus had compassion for the crowds. So,
2. The Gospel shaped His perception.
He didn’t see a bunch of bums, addicts, worthless people taking up oxygen. He saw people for what they were - lost, beat down, helpless.
He saw people for not what they did, but for what they needed.
He saw people who needed a Savior. They needed hope - love - forgiveness - new life - grace and truth. He saw people who needed Jesus. That’s the harvest - people who need Jesus!
When I step away from the Gospel ...
- I see people according the flesh and not the Spirit. I see labels, problems, issues, idiots …. When I step away from the Gospel, I lose compassion, I lose love, I forgot I was once an idiot, I was once lost …. But
When I step into the Gospel ...
- all the things I am supposed to have toward other people reemerge - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
How does the Gospel currently influence my perception of people? How I can step into the Gospel this week?
The 3rd thing I noticed is that
3. The Gospel saturated His prayers.
The harvest is plentiful - people need the Gospel! But sadly,
Very few who have the Gospel take the Gospel into the harvest
- into people’s lives. So Jesus said, “Just pray that a bunch of people would get saved.” Not what He said. He said, “Get on your knees and fervently pray for laborers (i.e. you ad me) to go into the harvest.” This has Romans 10 all over it. How can anyone believe unless someone goes and tells?
What’s the point?
Our prayers should be saturated with the Gospel.
For God to send others, to send us, to send me, for opportunities - for power and boldness to proclaim the Gospel.
Put your prayers on a scale - on one side are gospel-centered prayers - on the other side is everything else. Which way does it tilt? What would it take to tip the scale toward the Gospel?
Would you join with me in pursuing the Gospel - allowing the Gospel to permeate our lives and this church, to shape our perception of people and saturate our prayers with the Gospel.
Josie Sinclair