The Power of the Gospel XXII

Sunday 09/13/15

Series: The Power of the Gospel XXIII

Message – The Power to Bear Fruit unto Godliness XIX

The Good Heart

A good and honest heart believes and welcomes not only the message of the Gospel, but the purpose of the gospel by the working of God’s power within.

The Good News

The word gospel means, Good News, but what is the good news – what is it’s purpose?

Most often the message of the Gospel is called the Gospel of the Kingdom or the Good news of the Kingdom. To the Jewish people this would have meant the clarion call of the age of Messiah. The Jews believed that the Messiah would overthrow the enemies of Israel, establish world peace and rule a natural kingdom…and those things are in fact part of the Messianic promise, but before the natural comes the spiritual.

The Good News of the gospel is that Christ Jesus the Messiah, has come and conquered our spiritual enemies of sin, death & separation from God…AND the ruler of death himself – satan. The Father has freed us from satan’s tyrannical reign and has delivered us into the kingdom of His Son. Let’s read that from scripture.

Col 1:13-14,

“(13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

THAT is the Good News of the Gospel.

The Purpose of the Gospel

The purpose of the Gospel is one with the News of the Gospel – it is to be in and part of the Kingdom of God by allowing the King of that Kingdom to reign in your heart – namely, Jesus!

Today we spent some time looking at what the kingdom of God and Christ’s reign in that kingdom looks like inside the of the “Good Heart”.

Scriptures Referenced…

Colossians 1:1-29,

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
1:6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
1:7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
1:8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
1:11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
1:14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
1:19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
1:20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
1:22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—
1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
1:25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
1:26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
1:28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
1:29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

2 Peter 3:1-18,

3:1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
3:2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
3:16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
3:17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Blessings!

I will have the video up as soon as I can…

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!