Thank you, Ken Cann for preaching this weekend while I was away on my study break! Both of the pictures on this entry are from a 5-mile hike I did on Tuesday last week.
We are three months into our “Year of Evangelism,” where we’re lighting our world by sharing the gospel. How is that going for you? Have you shared the good news yet this year?
How has Ray Comfort’s book been helpful to you in sharing your faith? Do you see sharing the gospel differently now than you did before?
(We WILL be reading another Ray Comfort book this fall together! More details on that later!)
Jesus was all about the gospel. He started his ministry by proclaiming the gospel everywhere he went. Mark summarizes what Jesus shared very succinctly:
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15 ESV
Remember, “gospel” was not a religious word at the time. The Greek word is euangelion. It’s where we get the term evangelism or evangelist. It is about bringing good news from or about the king.
Jesus is proclaiming the good news that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand…” This is the good news that the Jewish people had been looking forward to hear for a long, long time… That a NEW KING was coming to set up a never-ending kingdom that they would be part of!
As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13–14 NLT
Imagine what good news this was to people who believed it… The Jewish people had seen their political kingdom broken and devastated by oppressor after oppressor, hadn’t they? Now, finally, Jesus is saying that the promised time has finally arrived.
So, why 2000 years ago? Why send Jesus as the means of salvation at that time? Why not the day after the rebellion in the garden?
How is Jesus’ gospel message different than the version we tend to hear today? How does Jesus frame it differently than we are used to hearing?
How does Jesus say we are to access this eternal kingdom? How are these terms defined?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)
For Jesus, this wasn’t simply about “going to heaven when you die…” But about living in a different kingdom with a different king right now.
How should my life be different if I were living for a different king right now?
As we pray together for each of “our three in 23,” let’s pray that God would open doors this very week for us to invite them into the eternal kingdom.