The Call to Proclaim by PJ Smyth Points of Consideration: The words of Paul 1.
I am not ashamed of the Gospel Roman 1:16
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I am here for the defense of the Gospel Phil 1:16
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All of the world the Gospel is bearing fruit Colosians 1:6
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I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel Ephesians 6:19
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I want to finish the race and complete the task of testifying to the Gospel Acts 20:24
The 4 Main Aspects of Proclaiming the Gospel 1.
The Definition of the Gospel
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The Result of the Gospel
3.
The Enemies of the Gospel
4.
The Defenders of the Gospel
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The Gospel is Jesus Christ Romans 1:1-2
The question is not “what is the Gospel” but “who is the Gospel”! The Gospel is Jesus! The Gospel is the story of hope through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The Gospel is proclamational and demonstrable. It is about saying and doing. The gospel is to be applied to every area of thinking, doing, being, acting, leading, praying, etc. Eph 3:7-12 Through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known. 2.
The Result of the Gospel 1 Peter 2:9-12
The Gospel of mercy creates a new community of people on the earth every time it is preached! God has always wanted people. Through the proclamation of the Gospel the local church is formed and exists. The Gospel has to be multiplied and be spread. It is too big to stay put. God is too big for one place. His mercy and Gospel will be multiplied!
Upon His sacrifice the veil was torn allowing ALL people from All nations to come to Him. The Gospel is for all people. Changed lives are the real result of the Gospel. He has purchased all people through His sacrifice. He has opened the road to redemption for all people. The Gospel changes us! We have no choice but to change after coming face to face with the truth. The Gospel changes: Lifestyle Gal 2:17 Obedience & Good Works 2 Cor 9:13 3.
The Enemies of the Gospel
We must defend the Gospel. There will be enemies and falsehoods to be deterred in order to defend the Gospel. Idolatry: The worship of created things is No. 1 Satan himself is a created thing, and he demands to be worhsiped by man. That is a truth we can stand firm on. Anything that gets more focus time and worship than Jesus is idolatry! Recognize this a flee from it. Our problem with idolatry is perception! We don’t perceive the lies because we are a selfish and ignorant people. Food Phil 3:19 Sex Romans 1:24 & 26 Self-Promotion Jeremiah 45:5 Money Matt 6:24 All of the things we worship leave us empty with promises of the Gospel, but they cannot fulfill it. We need to expose the idols we worship! We have to call them the junk they are! Then, we must expose Jesus! We can’t tell them the idols are bad unless we can show them the good! If we don’t do this, we risk the people becoming religious! Then we must expose ourselves. Let the searching for the Gospel begin in our own hearts and lives!
The problems is not that we want to idolized and made big, it is that we desire “Mickey Mouse” junk in comparison to Jesus. Desire to be part of something HUGE! Religion is another enemy of the Gospel. Eph 3:8-10. The good works noted in this set of verses is not our salvation, it is the result of our salvation. But the world says that these works are our salvation. In Religion the source of salvation is me, In the Gospel the salvation is Jesus. Religion =Get it yourself Gospel = Get it from Jesus Salvation is a gift of God and not the works of our hands! It is a gift of grace! Romans 3:20-22 The Gospel keeps our identity from being grounded in the works of our hands, and keeps our identity grounded in the grace of Jesus! 1 Cor 15:10 We know this to be true because Jesus extends salvation to the thief on the cross. He never had time to allow works to be his salvation! Salvation is about who we know and not what we do! Faith only…. Religion says you suck, so change and you won’t suck. The Gospel says you don’t suck and you’re not condemned, so go and sin no more! He is working in us to do as we should! Phil 2:12-13 God is there to tell us we are His and we are different than we believe. He does this in love. He is not harsh with us. He is patient and tempered, even in His wrath. We have a new identity in Christ. That should be our center focus of worship…the transformation on Christ in us. Identity in Christ will lead to a church full of good works! Religion will provoke you to sin. If you want a church full of sin, load it up with rules! Romans 7:8 The law is impotent to produce righteousness Gal 3:21 & Romans 3:20 The law is only for us on the unsaved. 1 Timothy 1:8 & Gal 3:24-25 Jesus came to complete the law. We are no longer under the law. The law brought us to Jesus, now we are free.
Don’t use the law on your people, or they will sin more! John 15 tells us that is we simply abide in Jesus we will be able to produce many good things. Not the law! If we will be a Jesus soaked people, we will bear good fruit. 4.
The Defenders of the Gospel
Aspect of the Gospel we know: 1.
Planting Churches
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Preaching the Gospel
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Honoring the Sovereignty of God
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Diligent Discipleship that results in changed lives
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Tearing Down Idols
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Tearing Down Religious Legalism
We must get convinced of the Gospel ourselves! 2 Tim 2:8 Get Set apart & Called to the Gospel Romans 1:1-2 Become accountable to the Gospel Gal 2:6 Check your Message & Calling Become Completely Unashamed of the Gospel! Acts 17:26-27, Mt 5:14-16, Hab 2:14, Mt 4:17, Acts 2:38 Become a Slave to the Gospel Romans 1:1, Eph 3:7 Youmust ask yourself if God comes first in your life or do you? What is first in my life? What gets my primary focus and energy? If it is not the Gospel, you are not a slave to the Gospel! “……..In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.” Matthew Parris and Athiest 12/27/2008